Surprising Things in Unlikely Places
by Silverado17
Summary: When Harry's abusive alpha kicks him out of the house, Harry goes to his friends for help. On the road to recovery he finds new love in an unexpected person. *Warnings*: rape, domestic abuse, past child neglect, mpreg, OOC. Mainly Snarry with Romione and Wolfstar on the side. Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics.
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: So, this is the first Harry Potter story I've ever posted. I'm sure everyone is a bit OOC, so you'll have to forgive me for that. I have finished this story and I'm currently working on the sequel to it. This is a Snarry fic with a side of Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics and mentions of mpreg. If none of those are your thing, turn back now. I was unsure on the rating, so I went for M because of some of the events and I'd rather be on the safe side. Feel free to tell me if you see any errors that need fixing - I don't have a beta. I suck at titles, so the one you see is the best I could come up with. By the way, I'm an American so I might accidentally use some American slang. I apologize if I do.  
_**

 ** _This story was greatly inspired by a series of stories I read on (AO3). The series is called "Holiday Surprise", the stories, in order, are "Holiday Surprise", "Winter Storm", "Small Miracle", and "Remembrance". The author is Demondog136. These stories are Drarry rather than Snarry, but a good deal of the plot in my story came from these stories. I highly recommend reading them._**

 ** _That bring me to this. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, that honor belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling, and I did not come up with this plot entirely on my own._**

 ** _Warnings: At the beginning of this story, Harry is in an abusive relationship (not Severus Snape). During this story, the following will either take place of be mentioned, so if the following are triggers for you, this is not a story for you: domestic abuse, rape, child neglect, or mild violence._**

* * *

 _Intro:_ _In this 'verse, a person finds out if they are an alpha, beta, or omega when they come of age (17). Only wizards or witches can be an alpha of omega - all Muggles are just betas. There is a 3:1:1 ratio of betas to omegas to alphas. In the majority of cases, betas mate with each other, while alphas mate to omegas and vice versa. Most omegas (male or female) and female betas can get pregnant. Omegas naturally seek to make their alphas happy. All alphas know this, and while some use that information to encourage their omega, some take advantage of it. Some see omegas as nothing but baby makers and are manipulative in order to get an omega to carry their 'pups'. Often, when an alpha is unsatisfied with their omega, they become abusive or kick the omega out, both of which are difficult situations for omegas. There are laws in place that were designed to protect the unique relationships between alphas and omegas, but they have been corrupted. The laws that were intended to keep those who don't understand omegas (who are very complex and can get emotional(ly fragile)) from manipulating them have been twisted to say that under no circumstances could anyone other than an alpha try to come between said alpha and their omega. In other words, even if there is a known case where an alpha is abusing their omega, no one can do a thing about it. Alphas have unlimited rights with what they can do to their omegas, short of killing them. In this story, Harry is omega, Snape is alpha, and Hermione and Ron are beta. Sirius is an alpha, mated to Remus, who is omega. When Sirius was accused of the crimes that got him thrown into Azkaban, Remus knew he was innocent but could do nothing about it. He didn't have too hard of a time because Sirius hadn't purposely left him, but things were still very hard on Remus, who is still a werewolf in this story. Sirius was exonerated within 2 years of breaking out of Azkaban (Between Harry's 4th and 5th years at Hogwarts), which in the long run saved his life and many others. He is very protective of Remus now, as well as Harry. Harry went to live with Sirius and Remus the summer after his fourth year._

Snape was in his store, as he usually was these days. He had found, after the war, that returning to Hogwarts was just too much, especially now that it was common knowledge he had never been a traitor after all. He couldn't bear those looks people gave him - the ones that said they thought he was some sort of hero worth admiring. The fact that he had nearly died didn't help to tone down those looks, either. He had never liked the spotlight. So here he was, in his store, where he was very good at his job but generally away from the prying eyes of the public – as much as he could be while still earning a living. He hadn't seen many people from Hogwarts lately, and that was perfectly fine with him. He liked his solitary life, even though he did sometimes wish he had a mate. He was an alpha, but he wouldn't have minded having a beta around. He knew, of course, that he would clash a bit too much with another alpha, but he wasn't sure he could really handle an omega. They seemed a bit too emotional, and Snape didn't have the kindest disposition. It wasn't that he didn't care for people; he just didn't know how to show it and he certainly wasn't heartless enough to accept causing emotional heartache to an omega because he couldn't show the compassion that omegas often craved. Then _he_ walked in.

Harry was having a rough week, just like he did every month after his heat. He had an alpha - a mate - and he had loved the man at first. They had met a few years after the final war and become mates only six months after meeting. The alpha had been so fantastic in the first year and a half of knowing each other, but after a year of being mated and still not having any pups, the other man, Nathaniel, was starting to get frustrated with Harry. He kept going on about how if the famous Harry Potter was so great, he should be able to bear pups. Then he'd said the thing that had broken Harry's heart. He'd said that was half the reason he'd mated to him – because Harry was so good with everything else he had been sure the omega 'couldn't louse up getting bred.'

Now Harry was desperate. His alpha had mated him mainly because he wanted pups, and Harry had been too blind to see it. Now that it had been two years since they'd gotten mated, Harry could sense the storm coming. It was only a matter of time before he was tossed out on his arse; there wasn't much holding the alpha back, considering the reasons he'd mated Harry in the first place. It wasn't that Harry wouldn't be happy to get away from the man – after he'd shown his true colors he'd turned out to be a bit abusive and Harry was feeling at the end of his rope with all the pressure put on him by the alpha – but there was one problem. He was an omega who had an alpha mate, and while if an alpha lost their mate, it was hard but doable to move on, an omega who lost a mate had a very hard time recovering. If Harry had a choice, he would go back and stop himself from ever meeting the other man. He would be better of eternally single than single after having an alpha dump him. Omegas rarely ever moved on from losing a mate. The ones that didn't kill themselves battled depression and had to go to constant counseling, and as much as Harry hated to admit it, as bad as his current situation was, it would only get all the more worse for him if he was tossed aside like the worthless piece of trash he apparently was.

That's what had brought him to his current quest. He'd been searching for a year to find a good potion that would increase his chances of getting pregnant, but so far nothing had worked and Harry was beginning to suspect he was defective. He had been to almost every apothecary in the United Kingdom. All he wanted to do was earn back the love his alpha had once shown him (because as an omega, he had the innate desire to be loved and to satisfy his alpha, and he hated his biology for that), and he really hoped he might do that by producing pups, but he just wasn't having any luck and it was only a matter of time before he was kicked out. He thought he might have a few months left of chances. If he was lucky. And despite the feeling that maybe things would be alright again if he could get pregnant, he knew in the back of his mind that Nathaniel had only mated him so he could have pups, and that would always hurt even if he could earn back some affection.

The last thing Harry expected to see when he opened the door to the apothecary he'd just found, was his old Potions professor. "Professor Snape," he said in surprise.

Snape smelled something wonderful come into his shop and briefly recalled an article he'd read in some magazine that said a person's true mate would smell better than anything else to them. He had discarded it as meaningless rubbish. Then that wonderful something had called him a name he hadn't been called in years, and he looked up sharply, startled by the boy – no, man – he saw standing near his door. "Snape will suffice," he said, confused at what his olfactory receptors were trying to imply. "I have not been a professor for years. Now, what can I do for you, Potter?"

Harry didn't know why, but he wanted Snape to call him by his first name – even though he didn't call the other man Severus– but he did notice appreciatively that the man no longer said his surname with such malice as he once had. Harry was briefly relieved he had opted not to change his last name to match his mate's. The odds of him still having a mate by the same time the next year were slim anyway. "I need a potion," Harry said, fumbling. How do you tell the professor you once hated but grew to appreciate – to put it mildly – that you needed a potion to help with conception?

"Well, I would assume so, considering the type of establishment you just walked into. Could you perhaps be a bit more specific?"

Harry was suddenly glad for the sardonic tone. It wasn't hateful, like the tone Nathaniel often used, and it wasn't admiring, like the tone of everyone who didn't know him and thought he was so incredible because of a series of events that were out of his control. "Well, it's a bit personal, and I wasn't really expecting to run into you."

"Out with it, Potter. I'm hardly going to embarrass you now. I've long since lost the enjoyment in such an activity and I am bound by magical law to keep all my dealings with customers confidential. Now if you would please tell me what it is you're looking for, I might be able to help you."

"Alright, fine. I don't know if you realize, but I'm an omega." Now that Harry said so, it should have been obvious. It was somewhat of a difficult concept, the Boy Who Lived being an omega, a type of person who was seen as being quite fragile. Snape had seen for himself that Potter was made of sterner stuff that the stereotyped omega, although he did know not to put too much faith in stereotypes. "I've had a mate for a couple years now, and we've been trying to have pups, but it hasn't been working out and I've tried several different potions, but nothing has worked so far. I was wondering if you might have something?"

Snape raised a brow. So Potter and his mate were having trouble conceiving, and they had turned to potions to help them out. The only odd thing about the situation was that, normally, this was something mates looked for together in these cases – at least in Snape's experience. And Potter looked a little worried about the situation. Surely he hadn't gotten caught up with one of _those_ alphas – the ones who treated you nice to start out with, only to get you to mate them before showing their true colors – abusive bastards who wanted nothing more than pups, who broke off anything with an omega who couldn't reproduce properly. It sickened Snape that there were people like that. Didn't they realize what that did to an omega?

Forcing himself to focus on what he should be focusing on, Snape said, "I think I might be able to find something for you, if you would give me a few moments." Snape went to the back room where he kept all of his extra supplies. He hadn't brewed a fertility potion in a while, but he was able to find some. "Here, take this. Swallow a spoonful every night with your meal, two spoonfuls all week the week before your next heat."

"Thank you," Harry said, truly hoping this one would work.

"Of course," Snape said.

* * *

The potion didn't work. Harry followed the instructions, but nothing changed. Nathaniel was getting more frustrated than ever, and Harry was lucky to escape violence whenever he was in the other man's presence. It didn't make him feel any better when he was told to sleep on the couch until he could prove he was good for something other than looking pretty. Deciding to give the potion another chance, because it could take more than a month to actually work, he went back to Snape a week after that heat, since he'd run out of the potion.

"Could I have another bottle of that potion?" Harry asked quietly when he returned.

Snape studied Harry. Clearly, he'd had no luck. That wasn't the worst of it, though. Harry seemed beaten down and… beaten. He had an odd bruise on his left cheek, and it seemed as though Harry had tried – unsuccessfully – to conceal it. He was also thinner and paler. But what could Snape do? Anyone who tried to refute the bond between an alpha and omega – other than the alpha in the bond – would receive worse than Azkaban, and unless Harry was seeking help Snape could do nothing. Even if Harry was seeking help, there would be next to nothing Snape could do. "Yes, you may. I'll retrieve some from the back. One moment."

Harry waited for Snape to come back. It had been strange – almost like the man was analyzing him. He wondered how much Snape had been able to deduce from his appearance. It seemed like it had been a lot, but you never could tell with Snape, even post-war Snape, who was different than Potions-Master Snape. "Thank you," Harry said when Snape brought another bottle to him. He left before another word could be said.

* * *

"That's it. I've had enough. I'm done dealing with you. You're no good to me – worthless. I should have gotten rid of you sooner, then I might at least have a pregnant omega if not pups. Good luck finding someone who can actually find a use for you now. I'll give you an hour to pack your things and leave. Understood?" Nathaniel said. It was as if he was firing someone from their job, or foreclosing on a house, not kicking out a mate, someone you're supposed to bond with for life. Harry knew it was basically over for him, now. For an alpha, a breakup with a mate was nothing, but for an omega it brought feelings of abandonment, failure, uselessness, hopelessness, fear, despair, and anything else under the sun. It would be a struggle now. And he knew from experience that heats without alphas were the worst, so he'd have to get suppressants. And a place to live. Maybe Ron and Hermione would let him live with them for a few days, or even a week if he needed it. He'd need to find a counselor, too.

Harry left Nathaniel's house with his most important possessions packed in a small bag half an hour later, and he was punched in the stomach on his way out the door because he took too long. He immediately apparated to Ron and Hermione's house, hoping they would understand. He knocked on the door dejectedly, feeling like the epitome of failure.

"Harry?" said Hermione when she opened the door.

"Hey, I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, if I could stay with you two for a while? I don't really have a home anymore right now…"

"What—oh never mind. Come on in, we'll talk about it once you've gotten a bit settled." Hermione then led Harry to a spare bedroom, where he unpacked the few things he had brought with him, before going downstairs to find the beta making tea. "Ron's still at work," Hermione mentioned as she had Harry sit down on the couch. She sat beside him. Ron worked at the Ministry, while Hermione was a medi-witch at St. Mungo's. "I got off work early today. So, why did you say you don't have a home anymore?"

"Nathaniel kicked me out," Harry said quietly, ashamed.

"What?! Why?!"

"I guess he got fed up with the fact that I wasn't getting pregnant."

"That's not reason to kick you out!"

"It is when that's the only reason he wanted me to move in with him to begin with. He played me, Hermione. And I fell for him so hard."

"Harry, I'm so sorry. Please believe me, though, when I say none of that is your fault. He's just being a dick."

"Thanks Hermione, but I think that might take a while to sink in," Harry said honestly. "I'm going to go out and get some suppressants tomorrow, I think. You know, for the next heat."

"Probably a good idea," Hermione agreed. "And I highly recommend you go see a counselor. I think you know why, but if you don't I'll be more than happy to list out some reasons."

"I know why, and I agree. I would like to survive these next few years. I don't suppose you could recommend anyone for me?"

"Yes, actually. There's a wizard with an office close to mine and I think he'd be great for you. I can set up an appointment if you'd like, or you can do it yourself. Whatever you would prefer."

That was the moment Ron chose to Floo home. "Harry! What a surprise. How are you?" he greeted before giving Hermione a peck on the cheek.

"Not great," Harry said honestly. "Nathaniel kicked me out."

"What?! He can't do that! Can he?"

"I'm afraid he had every legal right to," Harry said.

"Well, that's a dick move," Ron said vehemently.

"My thoughts exactly," Hermione agreed.

"Yeah, well, I'm staying with the two of you now, unless you've got an objection," Harry said.

"Of course not. It'll be just like old times. Except this time we won't be sharing a room."

Harry gave a small smile for the first time that day. Maybe things would be alright, so long as he had his friends.

* * *

 _ **AN: I know I kinda put a lot in that first chapter, but it just seemed like a good amount. The next chapter should be coming soon. Leave me a review please!  
**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: I normally don't post the second chapter within a day, and I probably won't be able to post another chapter tomorrow, but I really wanted to post this one already so here it is. Enjoy! Oh yeah, and I'm not a psychologist or other type of therapist and have never had an appointment with one (nothing wrong with it if you have), so the appointment described in the following chapter is all kinds of incorrect. Just assume things are different in the minds of witches and wizards... please, for me?  
_**

* * *

The next morning, Harry's positive mood changed drastically. He felt like dying. But he couldn't, so he forced himself to carry on as usual humans do. He ate breakfast with Ron and Hermione, and while they went to work, he went out to get suppressants. The sooner he started on them, the better. He had sent a notification to his job, knowing he wouldn't be any good at work, at least for a while. He didn't know why – probably because it was where he'd been getting his other potions – but he ended up in Snape's apothecary.

When Snape saw Harry, he was expecting what he had come to know as the usual exchange, until he noticed that Harry seemed worse off than normal. "Is everything alright?" he found himself asking with concern that surprised even him.

"It will be, I'm sure," Harry said resignedly. "Listen, I'd really prefer if you didn't ask questions. I'm sure that you'll come to the correct conclusion anyway. I need suppressants."

Snape felt himself grow angry. The boy's – man's – alpha had kicked him out. That was not acceptable. How could an alpha do that to their omega? "That bastard!" he muttered, turning slightly red when he realized that Harry had heard. "I'll be back in a moment," he muttered. He went and found some suppressants for the omega standing out in his front room. No wonder Harry looked so off. He was probably already feeling the struggle of depression kicking in, and for all Snape knew he was feeling the pull of suicide already as well. It happened all too often to omegas who were kicked out – especially when their alphas told them it was a result of something the omega failed at or was unable to do. Just the thought of Harry taking his own life, or even having the desire to, was murder to Snape's heart.

After finally finding the potion, he went out front and passed it to Harry. "Thank you," Harry said with a smile. For some reason, the thought that he had put that smile – however small – on Harry's face made the alpha in Snape curl up happily. That was odd, Snape thought.

"Of course," Snape said. After he accepted payment for the potion, he watched as Harry began to walk out the door. He suddenly just couldn't let him walk away. "Harry!" he called out then, momentarily shocked with himself for using his first name.

Harry stopped and turned, bemused. "What?" he asked, not rudely.

"Are you staying somewhere?" he asked. He wanted to make sure his former student would be safe – for reasons he wasn't yet ready to analyze.

"Yeah, with Hermione and Ron," Harry said, not sure why he felt alright with answering the man.

Snape nodded to himself. That was good. Hermione was a healer, so she would be able to recognize any signs in Harry and staying with his two oldest school friends would be good for him. "That's good. I would like to say that in case you have need of something, you can come to me, Harry."

Harry was shocked, to say the least, at the alpha's words. They were almost tender. Sure, he knew something of Snape's true nature after the final battle at Hogwarts, but that didn't mean he could always overlook the years before that and the dynamics that had passed between the teacher and student. He often forgot how amazing the Potions Master was, and it tended to catch him off guard when he was reminded. "Thank you," he settled on saying. When Snape said nothing else, he left.

He spent the rest of his day at Hermione and Ron's house. It did little to help his mood, but what was he supposed to do? Ron was the first home, and when he did get home, Harry discussed Quidditch with him in a way like he hadn't discussed it in ages. It was engaging. It occurred to Harry that he hadn't had all that much quality of life when he had been with Nathaniel. The only real enjoyment he'd had was centered on the alpha. He was broken out of his thoughts by Hermione's arrival.

"I talked to one of the counselors. There's a beta who said he'd be glad to see you tomorrow at 1:00. Does that work for you?" Hermione asked.

"Sure. I have no plans," Harry said.

"Wonderful. My lunch break ends at 1:00, so if you just go to the lobby a little before your appointment, I can show you the way."

"Sounds good," Harry said. He felt a little nervous about the prospect of the appointment. He didn't know what to expect. As usual, Hermione had no trouble reading him.

"You know, Harry, he's not going to make you talk about anything you don't want to talk about. You aren't going to be under interrogation. He's just going to see where your head's at, exactly, and see if he can help you get through this in a way that your friends can't."

"I know. I've just never done anything like this before, not even after the war."

"I know," Hermione said gently.

* * *

The next day, Harry arrived in the lobby early to meet Hermione. When she got there a couple of minutes before 1:00, she gave him a small hug before leading him to the office of the counselor he was going to see. The waiting room was comfortable enough, with warm colored furniture and lighting that was just the right shade. Harry was still relieved when he didn't have to wait long.

"You're Harry, right?" said a cheerful-but-not-too-cheerful beta behind the desk.

"Yeah," Harry said, shaking the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm technically Mind-Healer Robins, but you can just call me Ethan."

"Alright," Harry said, not at all sure how things were supposed to go here.

"So, you're friends with Hermione, right?"

"Yeah."

"She didn't tell me exactly what your situation was. I suppose she thought it best to tell me herself, and I can't say I find her at fault for that. She just told me you were an omega who was in a rough spot, and when she brought up the subject you agreed to see someone about it."

"Well, the rough spot I'm in is that my alpha just kicked me out a couple of days ago. It hasn't completely sunk in yet, but I've heard the stories and I don't want to end up as one of those people."

"I see," said Ethan, looking thoughtful. "What are your feelings on the issue at the moment?"

"Well, it's a bit up and down to be honest-" Harry started.

"Not lately, at the moment," Ethan said.

"Right," Harry said. "Well, right now I feel sort of regretful. I mean, I miss Nathaniel – my ex, I suppose, is what he is now. I'm upset that this happened, and I wish I could have kept it from happening."

"Okay, so now I'm going to ask how your feelings have been since this happened."

"Well, sometimes I'm alright. I mean, Ron and I were talking about Quidditch last night and it was the most fun I'd had in a while, and I sort of forgot about what happened between me and Nathaniel. And yesterday, after I got my suppressants, there were some other things on my mind that distracted me from what had happened, and I didn't feel happy, per se, but I didn't feel particularly down in the dumps either. But when I went to bed last night it was all I could think about and I ended up having nightmares."

"Hm… Harry, before we continue I would like to point out that you don't have to answer any of my questions by any means. I would strongly suggest you do, but you're not required to do anything while you're here."

"I know."

"Good. I have a very important question to ask you. Why did Nathaniel kick you out?"

"Because we had been mated for two years and I can't seem to get pregnant," Harry said.

His comment made Ethan look troubled. "One more question, and then there are some things I want to tell you. You said that when you were talking with Ron about Quidditch last night, it was the most fun you'd had in a while, and then you said you later had nightmares after thinking about Nathaniel. How did Nathaniel treat you?"

"Well, alright I guess. I mean, other alphas sometimes treat their omegas horribly, and he never got too bad," Harry said noncommittally

When Harry stopped talking, Ethan prompted him, "Can you be more specific than that? Did he ever push you around, or did he have rules he made you follow that you thought were unreasonable? Did he start treating you differently after you mated?"

"Well, he did treat me a little different, now that I think about it. When he was still courting me, he was a perfect gentleman. Once we got mated, he was more demanding and most of those sweet things he did that made me fall in love with him just stopped. Then he did start making me rules. He didn't want me seeing too much of my friends – he said he wanted to spend time with me. Then he would get pushy, and if he told me to do something and I didn't do it, he'd get mad." Harry had never said any of these things before. He had been too afraid to share the information. He had known it would be futile anyway, due to the laws regarding omegas and the way those laws were interpreted. "A lot of times, when he got mad, he would hit me." Harry's voice grew quieter as he made his admittances. He wasn't stopping though - now that he had started the words wouldn't stop flowing. "It started out small, just a slap on the arm if I got ahead of him in trying to get food – he always insisted he got his food first. Then he started slapping me across the face if I forgot to do the dusting, or if I missed a spot. The next thing I knew he was giving me orders all the time and punishing me when I didn't do right. I could normally manage to please him, but when I didn't he made up for it by using his belt or a cane on my backside, and sometimes he'd even use the Cruciatus Curse. And if he wanted sex he was going to get it. I used to tell him when I didn't feel like it, but then he stopped listening and started making it rougher when I said I didn't want to. He finally revealed the whole reason he'd mated me in the first place was so I could have his pups. He said he was going to take every opportunity to make it happen and I had no right to try and take that from him.

"When I still hadn't conceived for a year, he made me get fertility potions. That was a year ago. I tried so many different ones, but none of them worked. Soon after the heat before last, he told me I was being couched until I decided to get pregnant already. That was really hard, because I'd gotten so used to sleeping next to him and at the end of the day it was a comfort After my last heat, he told me he'd had enough. He said if I couldn't do what he wanted me to more than anything, then I had failed him and I needed to just get out. That's when I went to Hermione and Ron's place, because they were my best mates growing up, you know?"

"I'd like to make some things clear to you, Harry. Your alpha didn't kick you out because of any fault of your own. Your being kicked out is a result of Nathaniel's flaws, not yours. Nathaniel had the wrong attitude. He kicked you out because he's selfish and he doesn't realize the wonderful things you could have provided for him – love and loyalty and the camaraderie of a mate for life. He focused on the fact that you didn't do what he so foolishly and selfishly mated you for. Contrary to popular belief, an omega's purpose is not to provide his or her alpha with pups. An omega's purpose can be just the same as the purpose of any alpha or beta. There are countless omegas who just don't have the capability of getting pregnant, just as there are countless beta women who can't get pregnant. There is no shame in that. Do you understand?"

"I think so," Harry said, mulling it over. It was nice, the concept that it wasn't his fault his world was crashing down around him.

"You also need to understand that the way he treated you was not okay. I know that the law says no one can interfere with an alpha's relationship with their omega, and that alphas have the right to determine what their omega needs, but that doesn't give any alpha the right to force you into something after you say no. What he did was rape."

Harry stared at the man sitting in front of him. He'd never thought about that. Now that it was put that way, things seemed a lot clearer. A few years ago, he would have readily agreed with the man, and he knew it, and he would have been right. Now, he'd had it slowly drilled into him that Nathaniel was his alpha, and that meant what he said went. There was no option number two. Nathaniel's vice-like grip on his freedoms had tightened so slowly that Harry never would have felt it until he was crushed completely. Nathaniel had forced him to have sex with him when Harry didn't want to, and he had been far from gentle about it. "You're right," he breathed out, almost to himself. That was… a difficult truth.

"I know that's hard to absorb."

"I just never thought about it like that, but a few years ago, before I met Ethan, I would have never let him do the things he was doing to me a couple months ago. Does that mean he… brainwashed me?"

"I wouldn't say he completely brainwashed you. If he had, you probably wouldn't have believed me just then or admitted the way he treated you. You would have made him sound like prince charming. I just think it was such a gradual change from gentleman to jerk that you didn't catch the bizarre difference until now, when you're looking back and comparing your thoughts of a few years ago to your thoughts of a few days ago."

"I think I get that," Harry said. "That's a lot to take in, though."

"You're right, it is. What you're probably going to realize, with a little help, is that even though Nathaniel looked pretty good, he was more than a little flawed and his intentions were anything but good. It will take some time for you to come to terms with all of this, but that's what you need to do – come to terms with it. It's all well and good to do things that will distract you from the truth for a little while when you need a little pick-me-up, but the only way to truly heal is to come to accapet what you have just survived, to recognize it for what it was, accept that, and try to move on, learning from your mistakes. I would recommend talking with Ron and Hermione about this. I don't know Ron very well, but I know Hermione and when she was telling me about you, it was clear to me that she just wants to support you and be there for you. It's gonna help you when you talk to me, but I can't fix everything on my own, just like your friends can't. I'm not saying you have to do anything, but I highly recommend talking to Ron and/or Hermione about all of this."

"I'll do that, if I find a good time and place," Harry said honestly.

"Good for you. Before you leave, unless you have some other questions, there are some things I'd like to share with you about alphas like Nathaniel."

"Go ahead," Harry said, realizing now that the appointment was almost over.

"Most of the time, when an omega gets left behind or kicked out by their alpha, it's alphas like Nathaniel, okay? Now, not all alphas are like this, and I'm confident if you want to you'll be able to find a good alpha one day that won't treat you the way Nathaniel did, because there are plenty of good ones out there. What I'm telling you applies to the ones like Nathaniel.

"When you said you'd heard the stories, I assume you meant the suicide rate of omegas who are in situations similar to your own?" At Harry's nod, the counselor continued. "There are a lot of things that contribute to this, and most of it stems from the treatment they receive from their alphas before the breakup. The alphas were very controlling, wanting to be completely in charge of their omegas' lives. They slowly limit the things in the omegas' lives that would bring enjoyment to them – like your discussions with Ron about Quidditch, for example. As a result, the omega would get most of their enjoyment from the alpha, when the alpha is gone, the omega begins to feel like their only source of happiness has left them and there is therefore no hope for them any longer. To make things worse, the alpha typically wants to keep the omega to themselves, so they lose contact with their friends and therefore after losing their alpha they end up very lonely and have no one to help them cope.

The alpha has also taught the omega that the way to be a good person is to fulfill the alpha's wishes, whatever those are. After being kicked out, the omega feels like it's because they couldn't satisfy the alpha, which means the omega had not only failed to fulfill the whole reason for them being born, but they failed to please their alpha, which is hard for an omega to cope with whether they have been treated like this or not. Omegas have it programmed into their DNA to make their alpha happy. Having an alpha like Nathaniel who relies on you for so much and makes something so important that he kicks you out when you physically can't do it looks like the ultimate failure. Of course, you haven't really failed – you just feel like you have, and it's understandable. Just understand it's not your fault. And as a final point, any breakup is hard. It's just amplified when you're an omega whose alpha kicked you out.

"So, if you like, I want you to come back to see me in a week. Until then, I want you to talk to Ron or Hermione if you feel up to it, and at least inform them that their support is important through all of this. I also want you to look back at your life before you met Nathaniel. Obviously, everyone changes every year, but I want you to go off of the things you enjoyed then as a guideline for finding things to do now that you'll enjoy. I don't want you throwing yourself into things as a distractions, because like I said earlier you need to see things as they are and come to terms with them before any real progress is made. I just strongly believe that you should be having some fun and quality of life. Also, you need to make sure you're eating. Never stop eating – that is vital. Can you do all of this?"

"Yeah, of course," Harry said.

"Great," Ethan said as Harry walked out to the front desk to schedule his next appointment.

* * *

 ** _AN: Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter! More is always welcome. I hope you enjoyed the early update :)  
_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_AN: Here's the next chapter! I hope everyone enjoys it!_**

 ** _Refresher: At the end of the last chapter, Harry had his first counseling session and at the beginning of this chapter he is just arriving "home."_**

* * *

When Harry got home, he was surprised to see Ron already there. "Hello," he said. "How was your thing?"

"Enlightening," Harry said, collapsing beside Ron on the couch. Now that what he'd been told had time to sink in, it was almost overwhelming him.

"You, uh, want to talk about it, or anything?"

Harry narrowed his eyes at Ron. "You didn't come home early for me, did you?"

"What? No," Ron said. "There was a malfunction at the office and all the rooms started snowing, so we just decided to head on home, all of us. I was sort of waiting for you to get back though. I mean, I was just sort of sitting here reading _Quidditch Weekly_."

"Oh, right," Harry said. "Well, my counselor – he said to call him Ethan – actually told me he recommended I talk about this stuff to people I actually know, and I'd like to do that. Just out of curiosity, though, when will Hermione get in? Because I can only handle telling one person at a time about this, and it just feels easier with you."

"Well, we should have a few hours, but just in case we can go in your room. She won't have any reason to go in there and I think she'll know to leave us alone, whereas if we stay in here she's bound to accidentally interrupt us when she gets home."

"Alright, yeah, let's go to my room, then," Harry agreed. He led the way, sitting on the full sized bed when he got into his room. Ron shut the door behind him, casting a silencing spell – just in case – before sitting beside Harry on the bed. After taking some time to think about what he should say, Harry began. "So, Nathaniel was great starting out, you know? I thought I was so lucky. But after he had me reeled in, he started gradually treating me different, until suddenly I was in boiling water without even knowing it."

"What's this about boiling water?" Ron asked.

"You know, the thing with the frog?" At Ron's blank look, Harry elaborated. "There's this thing Muggles talk about, and I'm pretty sure it's true. If you put a pot of boiling water on the stove, and drop a frog into it, he'll jump out. If you put him in a pot of room temperature water, though, and slowly turn the heat up until it eventually starts boiling, he'll never realize it and he'll die, because the water temperature changed slowly enough his body just adjusted to it.

"That's the way it was with Nathaniel. First he just wanted to spend all my free time with him, and then, the next thing I know, I'm doing everything he says because I'm afraid of punishment. And when I say punishment I mean if I didn't have dinner ready when he got home I'd be bent over with him taking a cane to my ass. He used the Cruciatus on me once because I got mad and yelled at him. I never realized it was abuse until today, when I was talking to my counselor about it. And it gets worse." Harry looked at Ron for a moment. He seemed mad. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"What?" Ron asked, seeming to come out of some sort of deep contemplation. "Oh, right. Sorry. It's just – he shouldn't have been able to get away with that, and the thing is, there's nothing that can be done to him for treating you like that. It just makes me want to hunt him down and rip his throat out, you know? Or at the very least start a revolt to get the laws changed. Merlin, I can't even imagine how Remus and Sirius might react if you tell them about this when they return from America next week."

"Oh, I forgot about that. And they'll probably both want to rip his throat out just because he kicked me out. I wonder if it's a bad thing, how reassuring that is."

"Not at all," Ron said, smiling. "But you said it got worse?" he prompted, the smile leaving his face.

"Yeah. He would force me to do things sometimes, and I never really had it in perspective because of the way he talked about it and the way the laws are, but the fact of the matter is, he raped me on countless occasions."

Suddenly the windows in the room shattered and Ron was standing, red-faced and probably seeing red. "That's it," Ron said. "Nathaniel Morgan is officially a very dead man." Ron was visibly seething and Harry could feel his anger in the room.

"Ron, calm down," Harry said softly.

"Calm down?! How can I possibly calm down after hearing that the man you were supposed to be able to trust the most, the man who was supposed to protect you from anything, did that to you? Harry, you're my best mate; you're like a little brother to me. I'm not about to let him get away with doing that to you!"

"Ron, please," said Harry. He hated when people yelled. It always made him feel like he'd been bad, and he hated it.

Ron finally heard Harry and looked at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to yell. I'm just so mad at him. And the worst part is that what he did is legal."

"I know. The laws shouldn't have been written the way they were. But if you try and avenge me, or whatever, then it'll only get you sent to Azkaban, so don't go after him, alright? That's not going to help me anyway."

"Alright. I'll try not to do anything stupid with my righteous anger," Ron said, earning a small smile from Harry. Ron was inexplicably glad that Harry was still smiling and he hoped that would continue over the next several months, which would be some of the hardest times of Harry's life. "What can I do to help you, though? You just say the word and I'll do it."

"Thanks, Ron. I just need you to be here for me, like you are now. I need to know that I can come and talk to you anytime I need, and that you'll listen and not judge me."

"Of course. Anytime, no matter what I'm doing, just grab me and you'll have full attention from my ears. And I promise I won't share any of this, not even with Hermione."

"Thanks. I don't think you realize how much that means to me," Harry said.

"I don't think you realize how willing I am to do this for you. I'm honestly happy to do anything to help you out and keep you sane, you know?"

"Thanks," Harry said. "Really, though. The way my counselor explained things, one of the reasons omegas in my position tend to lose themselves is because they typically had alphas like Nathaniel. So the alpha would try to keep the omega away from their friends and that would cause the omega to lose touch, so by the time the omega gets kicked out or left or whatever, they've lost contact with a lot of their old friends and don't feel comfortable enough to turn to any of them, so they wallow in misery all on their own until they can't take it anymore. It was heading that way with Nathaniel. He was trying to keep me from spending time with basically everyone I had known. I honestly think that if it wasn't for the war and how close we ended up being, I might not have been so willing to come here for help, and if I had thought about it instead of coming straight here, I might have just decided to go somewhere else. What I'm trying to say is that you offering to be here for me might be what saves my life, in the end."

"What else are friends for?" Ron asked, although his voice showed that he now saw how narrowly they might have missed a serious tragedy.

"Well, now that you've mentioned Remus and Sirius, I should at least tell them I'm no longer staying in that house, so they don't go looking for me there when they get back. The rest I'll tell them when I see them in person."

"Good idea," Ron agreed as he and Harry headed to the kitchen, where they had heard Hermione moving around.

"Hello," she greeted them. After giving Ron a small kiss, she turned to Harry. "How was your appointment?"

"Good," Harry said, not quite feeling ready to give Hermione all the dirty details. "I have another appointment in a week. You haven't seen Hedwig, by any chance, have you?"

"Yeah, she actually just dropped off a letter for you," Hermione said. "I believe she was in the sitting room."

"Thanks," Harry said. He found Hedwig sitting on the back of the couch, and she gave a soft hoot when she saw him. Harry had a feeling that Hedwig knew something was wrong with him, because she seemed particularly worried over him lately. "What'd you bring me, girl?" Harry asked quietly. He felt comfort in knowing that Hedwig was always there for him, and probably didn't care what he was or wasn't able to do. He unstrapped the letter from her leg before handing her one of the owl treats he almost always had in his pockets. He was surprised to see that the letter was from his workplace.

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_ (Harry was suddenly glad he had opted to keep his own last name, despite Nathaniel's wishes)

 _We received a note from you via this owl telling us that you would be missing work for a few days, and we thought it was only fair we tell you Nathaniel sent us a letter one day before we received your notification. Nathaniel informed us that you were under a lot of stress, which is basically what you said, and said that therefore you would not be returning to work again. You'll be very relieved to know we have found a replacement, so there should be no further stress on your part, worrying if your job is being fulfilled. Best of luck as you de-stress._

 _Sincerely,_

 _The Boys From Work_

Harry felt his blood go cold. Nathaniel had planned to kick him out, and a day beforehand he had cost Harry his job, and because of the law there was nothing Harry could do to get that job back. It wasn't as if he had been planning to go back very soon, but it had been nice to know that he had the place to go back to once he healed. Now, not only did he have to come to terms with his new situation; he also had to find a new job at the end of it. Granted, most people would be happy to hire Harry Potter, but that was the worst reason to get a job and it had taken Harry the longest time to find the previous job he'd had, where he'd recognized he'd be treated as an equal. _And Nathaniel knew that_.

Feeling shock at how royally Nathaniel was still screwing up his life, Harry went back into the kitchen to see Ron and Hermione talking about some new ordinance at St. Mungo's that was making Hermione's job blessedly easier. "What's wrong?" Hermione asked, interrupting Ron, when she saw Harry come in.

"Read this," Harry said, not sure he could explain it himself.

"That's horrible!" Hermione said once she'd finished reading it.

"Can he really do that?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, because when he sent that letter, he hadn't kicked me out, yet. So he made that decision as my alpha, so it can't be disputed, and they've already got my slot filled."

"Well that blows," Ron said.

"You're telling me," Harry said, collapsing in one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

* * *

That night, before Harry went to bed, he sat down at the desk that was placed in the room he was currently calling his own. Hedwig, sensing he would need her soon, was sitting on a perch a few feet away. Taking up a quill, Harry began to compose his note to the men who had become his parents.

 _Dear Sirius and Remus,_

 _I hope you had a good anniversary trip. I look forward to hearing all the great stories you're bound to have made while abroad. On a slightly duller note, I just thought I ought to let you know, for when you get back, that I'm not living in the same place anymore. I'm staying with Ron and Hermione, indefinitely but hopefully temporarily. Don't worry about me – I'm doing fine. I just didn't want you to try and visit me and go to the wrong house. And whatever you do, don't cut your vacation short because you're worried about me. Like I said, I'm staying with Ron and Hermione and they're both doing a fine job of looking out for me, and I'm fine. I love you both and can't wait to see you when you get back._

 _Love,_

 _Harry_

After attaching the parchment to Hedwig's leg, Harry said to her, "Take it to Sirius and Remus. I'm sorry for making you take such a long trip."

Hedwig gave him a nip on the hand and a soft hoot, as if to say, 'You silly boy, I know how important they are to you and I'd fly anywhere to help you contact them.' Harry went to bed that night thinking about how difficult things were bound to get in the near future.

* * *

 _ **AN: That's the end of another chapter. Feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the reviews/follows/favorites. The next time I add a new chapter will be either in the next three days, or this coming weekend. In case I don't post another chapter between now and Sunday, Happy Valentine's Day (Single Awareness Day)! :) 3**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_AN: So, I've noticed a pattern in my posting chapters: so far every time I do it for this story, I do it two days in a row. I can't say whether than will continue or not, but here is the next chapter all the same. Enjoy!_**

 ** _Oh and as far as Hedwig going across the Atlantic Ocean to get to Sirius and Remus, I'm just picturing her riding on some sort of ship._**

* * *

Sirius was woken from a restful sleep by an incessant tapping on the window pane of the bungalow he and Remus were renting on their trip. He groaned as he unwrapped his arms from around Remus. They had one full day left to spend on their vacation and he apparently just had to be woken up at some ungodly hour. He did feel a bit less angry when he saw it was Hedwig outside. "Well, hello there," he said. "News from Harry?" He unstrapped the parchment that had been attached to her leg before unrolling it. As his eyes traveled over the words Harry had written, he felt himself growing worried, despite Harry's words. If Harry had moved in with Ron and Hermione, that could only mean something had happened with Nathaniel, which basically narrowed down to him dying or kicking Harry out. _He'd be luckier if he died_ , Sirius thought, because if the man had kicked his pup out of the house, it was going to be the end for one Nathaniel Morgan.

"Siri, come back to bed," mumbled Remus, who at the moment couldn't think of many things he hated more than being in bed alone.

"Remus, something's wrong with Harry," Sirius said.

"What?" Remus asked, sitting up.

"Read this," Sirius said, handing his mate the letter.

After reading it, Remus said, "Wait, but if he's moved in with them, that means that either…"

"I know," Sirius said. He sat down beside Remus and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Remus leaned into him.

"We should go home. It's only a day early, and we never really told them definitively when we were coming home, and it's not like we had any plans for doing something here today."

"I agree," Sirius said. "Let's start packing." They managed to get packed in about 20 minutes and apparated back to their home, bringing Hedwig with them and letting her out a window to fly back to Ron and Hermione's house. "Do you think we should unpack before we go over there?" Sirius asked.

"Definitely," Remus said. "It's still a little early to be going for a visit, don't you think?"

"I suppose so," Sirius agreed. He and Remus forced themselves to take their time unpacking. By the time they had done so and gotten the house completely in order again, they decided to stay home long enough to eat lunch before going to Ron and Hermione's house. When they had (finally) apparated onto the front porch, Remus knocked on the door.

"Oh, hello," Hermione said after she opened the door. "How was your trip?"

"It was fine. Harry sent us a letter and told us he was staying with you now," Sirius said, determined to see his pup as soon as possible.

"Right. He's actually not here at the moment, but he should be back in the next thirty minutes or so. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes, if we may," Remus said. Sensing Sirius's nervousness, he gently took one of Sirius's hands, knowing the other man was worried about what they might find out, what Harry might be going through. Sirius gave him a smile and squeezed the hand that had found its way into his.

Once they all had a cup of tea and were comfortably seated in the sitting room, Hermione asked the two, "So, how much did Harry tell you? He mentioned he'd written to you, but he didn't say what."

"Well, not much," Sirius said. "He just told us not to go to the old house to see him when we got back because he was staying with the two of you. Of course, we came to the conclusion that something happened with Nathaniel. We aren't completely sure what."

"I see," Hermione said. "Well, I'm afraid I can't really tell you what happened. I think Harry would rather tell you himself," she said. "I will tell you this, though. He seems to be doing well, all things considered."

Harry chose that moment to walk in the door from his therapy session. "I'm back!" he called, knowing Hermione had taken the day off to do some things that needed to be done.

"Wonderful," Hermione said. "Why don't you come get some tea?"

"Sure," Harry said. He felt rather exhausted after today's appointment, but he still felt like he was clearing out some cobwebs, and he was sort of working through things; that was the main reason he felt so exhausted. Ethan was cool, though.

Sirius and Remus both stood when Harry came into the room. "Hey, Prongslet," Sirius said warmly as he noticed that Harry seemed quite worn.

"Sirius, Remus, you're back." And just like that, Harry was throwing himself into the arms of the two men who had raised him during his later teenage years - the two men who meant the world to him. They both wrapped their arms around him and allowed him to shed a few tears. Harry felt suddenly very safe. At least there was still one alpha who cared for him.

Slowly, Harry regained his composure and the three sat down on the couch, with Harry sandwiched safely in the middle. "What happened?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked at his parents – because that's what they'd been to him for so long – and considered how to put this. Hermione still didn't know much about it. She had been able to deduce that Nathaniel was a jerk, but Harry hadn't described the… abuse… to her. Only Ron and Ethan knew about that, so far. Of course, he was far from obligated to tell the two men sitting beside him the exact details, so he decided to tell them what he'd told Hermione and Ron upon asking for a place to stay for a while. "Nathaniel kicked me out," he whispered. He suddenly wondered how the two would take it.

"He did what now?" Sirius demanded. He was angry; Nathaniel was so dead.

"You heard me," Harry said, then immediately felt bad for snapping. "Sorry," he apologized.

"It's quite alright, cub," Remus said. "Why did he do such a thing, though?"

"Well, he says it was because I wasn't having his pups," Harry said carefully, "but my counselor says it's because, to put it simply, he's a git."

Remus chuckled at the last part. "And what do you think?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted.

"So you're seeing a counselor?" Sirius pressed after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah. That was sort of Hermione's idea, but I agreed with her wholeheartedly on it. That's where I was just now."

"How's that going?" Remus asked.

"It's helpful," Harry said.

After another minute of silence, Hermione found an excuse to give the three some space. "Well, I've got some things I need to be tending to. Let me know if there's anything you need. And the two of you are welcome to stay for dinner."

"Thanks," Sirius said.

"So, what exactly have you been up to?" Remus asked, and Harry knew it was his way of asking for details while still giving him an out, rather than just demanding to know everything. It was good to have Remus – he understood Harry a little better, though it wasn't as if Sirius didn't try.

"Well, Nathaniel threw me out a little over a week ago, so I just immediately came here without thinking about it – which is a good thing because if I'd thought about it, I probably would have talked myself out of it. Ron and Hermione were more than happy to let me move in. Then, Hermione set me up with counseling sessions with this beta named Ethan whose office is close to hers. He's pretty nice, and he's already helping me work through a lot of things and I just saw him for the second time today. We're not going too fast, though. I am having some issues working through all of this, especially on an emotional level, but I feel like I'm doing a lot better off than I would be if I wasn't around people who care about me. I haven't really talked to Hermione about much of this, but I did talk to Ron one day, and he was great about it."

"Harry, I have to ask. You don't have to answer of course, but what about your job? It's my personal belief that you probably shouldn't really be working right now, but if that works for you then I'm not going to tell you to stop," Remus said.

"About that... I sent them a notice after moving in here that I wouldn't be able to work for a while, but they sent me a letter back that said Nathaniel had written them and told them I was quitting my job, and they got that a day before they got my note, so technically he was still my alpha then, so technically he had the legal right to quit my job for me, which means that I'm out of a job because they've already found a replacement for me at my old job. Which means that when I'm finally ready, I'm going to have to find some way to get a good job after I get passed this."

"Well, he is definitely a dick," Remus said angrily. He couldn't imagine what Harry must be feeling now. For Remus, as an omega, the thought of an alpha leaving him was more painful than any thought he'd had before. When Sirius had been put in Azkaban, he'd nearly lost it.

"That's it," Sirius said. "He's dead. There is no way I'm letting him get away with all he did. He had no right to do any of that," Sirius said. He was having a similar reaction to Ron, except that had been after Harry had revealed to Ron the truth of his treatment at the hands of Nathaniel. He couldn't imagine how either of the two men beside him would react to finding out what he'd told Ron.

"No," Harry pleaded. "You can't do that. Then they'll have a real reason to put you in Azkaban."

"I don't care. I can't let him get away with that!"

"Well I care!" Remus said, nearly yelling. He knew he'd never survive Sirius being ripped away from him again.

Sirius immediately calmed down. "Sorry, Moony," he said. "Sorry to you, too, Prongslet. I just can't stand the thought of him hurting you like he has, playing you like that, when he should have been the one you could have trusted most."

"It's alright Sirius. Really, though. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Ron. Going after Nathaniel isn't going to help me. It isn't going to change what he did, and it isn't going to make me feel any better. What you can do to help is be here for me, alright?"

"Yeah, alright," Sirius agreed, although he was still a bit reluctant.

"Can you promise me that, whatever happens, you won't try to kill Nathaniel? Please? For me and for Remus?"

"Okay," Sirius said after consideration. Harry did have a point, and he didn't much want to go back to Azkaban either now that he had calmed down. "I solemnly swear that I will not actively seek out and try to kill Nathaniel Morgan."

"Thank you," Harry and Remus both said.

* * *

When Snape saw Harry walk into his apothecary, he couldn't help but feel relieved, for some odd reason. He was sure it would have been plastered all over the papers for the world to see if the Boy Who Lived had died or something, but he still had felt uneasy. He certainly wasn't going to go and find the boy, though. That would make people suspect he might be up to something.

"Hello, Snape," Harry said.

"Harry," Snape said, cursing himself for calling the boy – man – Harry so often. He was sure to catch on that there was a reason for him not using his surname any longer. "How have you been?"

"Not bad, actually," Harry said honestly. He decided then that he might as well give Snape a little more information. He knew the guy wasn't bad, really, and he had been pretty nice about everything since Harry had started frequenting his place of business. "Listen, just so you know, I'm getting help. I think we both know that you know my alpha kicked me out, and I think we both know the reasons he gave for why. I've moved in with Ron and Hermione, though. They're being really great about the whole thing, and I've got a counselor I'm seeing, and he's helping me out with things, too. I just think you should know. You deserve to know after how willing you've been to put our past differences behind us."

Snape looked at Harry. He was being surprisingly mature, and he began to reprimand himself for ever accusing the boy of having his father's negative traits – he was definitely more like his mother*. He couldn't find any fault with what the omega had just said to him, so he simply nodded. "I appreciate you telling me. So, I assume you're here for suppressants?"

"Yeah," Harry said, and as Snape walked away, he suddenly found himself wanting to follow him. He also noticed that a smell he had attributed to the building had left with Snape – a most glorious smell. Surely that couldn't be right, though. That would imply that he had feelings for Snape, feelings he hadn't really felt for anyone since Nathaniel. But he and Nathaniel had only separated a month ago and it seemed much too soon for Harry to be falling in love with someone already. That was something he should probably mention to Ethan at the appointment he had the next day.

"Harry?" Snape said when he walked back into the front room. Harry jumped, making something inside of Snape puzzle in happiness at what had Harry looking so dreamily at Snape.

"Oh, right," Harry said, gratefully taking the potion that was being offered to him.

Snape found himself watching Harry as he left the store. He was so… something. _Get a hold of yourself,_ Snape thought. _He's just lost his mate, so no matter how you might be feeling he's in no position to make any kind of coherent decision about seeing another alpha. At least give it some time._

* * *

 _*I would just like to say that I am not of the frame of mind that Snape is falling in love with Harry because of his past love for his mom. That is not what I meant by that line. In this story, Lily (and James) was a beta, so it would have been highly unlikely for them to have any attraction for one another. Snape was simply very close friends with Lily and considered her to have many more good character traits than he ever imagined James to have. I just want to clarify that I don't think Snape is falling for Harry because of his past love for Harry's mom, which does not even exist in this story. **  
**_

 ** _AN: Thanks again for all the reviews/follows/favorites! They always make my day! Not to be greedy, but more would be appreciated :)_**

 ** _And by the way, there are several unspecified time jumps in this story. So the time before and after the page break is at least a few days, in case you were unable to tell. Not to insult your intelligence or anything. I just want to make sure everything is clear._**

 ** _Happy early Valentine's Day again!  
_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_AN: Guess who's already posting a new chapter. That would be moi. Hope everyone enjoys!_**

 ** _Oh, before I forget: slight warning in this chapter for discussion of a miscarriage._**

* * *

The next time Harry saw Ethan he shared with him what his feelings on Snape seemed to be. He was truly worried about what this meant for his mental state – if he should be concerned that he already seemed eager to find someone new.

"You said you got potions from the man before things ended between you and Natheniel?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Why?"

"Well, how did you feel about him, then?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, have your feelings changed since the first time you went to the apothecary?"

"Well, I thought he was attractive the first time, but not too much because I still had Nathaniel at the time. Now, he's still attractive, but almost more so."

"Well, there's nothing to worry about. You aren't just trying to fill the void that Nathaniel left behind. You are genuinely attracted to him. I would advise you not to take any steps too quickly because your recent separation from Nathaniel might make things work out badly. When you think you are ready to look for someone new, talk to whoever this man is and see what he things on the matter."

"Alright," Harry said. "Just out of curiosity, you don't think it means anything that the man is old enough to be my father?"

"No. If you were a beta, things would be different. Attraction between alphas and omegas is a strange thing, though. It has no clear pattern, so you really have nothing to worry over regarding age. You are probably ready to start things with someone new, but if you do, I strongly recommend you take things slowly."

"Right, of course," Harry agreed readily. He was only going to the sessions every couple of weeks now. He was making incredible progress. He still got down in the dumps sometimes, but he had gotten over the worst of it. The worst of it being his meltdown two weeks prior.

* * *

 _Harry sat on the couch. He had nothing to do, so he was lost in his thoughts. As he considered his day, he suddenly had the thought that he wished he could have pups, and he realized that he probably just didn't have the ability to have pups, and that was so hard to face. That meant that even though he was told most alphas weren't like Nathaniel, they would still be disappointed because he would never be able to have pups. Harry's thoughts steadily just begun to spiral out of control. Every fear he had been trying so hard to tamp down on was coming to the surface at once and Harry didn't know what to. Before he realized what was happening he was standing in the kitchen with one of the knives in his hands. When he realized what he was about to do, he put the knife down as quickly as possible and tried to breathe. This was an absolute nightmare. He'd been trying to avoid thoughts like this, and suddenly he had lost it and almost pressed a blade to his skin with the intention of killing himself. Ron and Hermione weren't supposed to be home for a while and Harry knew he couldn't trust himself to be alone._

 _The next thing Harry knew, he was standing on the front porch of the house Remus and Sirius shared, knocking frantically on the door. Remus opened it, and Harry was somehow glad that it was him instead of Sirius. Sirius was great, but Remus understood him better most of the time, seeing as how he was also an omega, and omegas were just wired different than alphas. "Harry, what's wrong?" Remus asked. Harry smelled stressed and scared, and Remus didn't like that smell on his cub._

 _"_ _Can I come in?" Harry asked._

 _"_ _Of course." And then Harry was being ushered into the house and a steaming mug of hot chocolate was placed in his hands as he was seated on the sofa. Remus sat beside him, and to Harry's relief he stayed silent, giving Harry room to breathe and think about the last half hour which had been mostly a complete blur. After Harry had downed half of the drink in his hands – chocolate truly was an amazing thing – and his breathing was back under control, Remus spoke up and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"_

 _"_ _I thought I was doing alright," Harry started. "I was surrounding myself with friends and getting professional help and I hadn't been tempted to kill myself or anything, but then I was sitting in Ron and Hermione's house – they were both at work so I was alone – and I just started thinking and it was getting out of control. The next thing I knew I was standing in the kitchen holding a knife to my wrist and I barely stopped myself from killing myself. I made myself come here because I don't want to die – not really – and I don't want to be alone because I don't trust myself."_

 _"_ _Oh, cub," Remus said, pulling Harry into his arms. "I'm so sorry you're having to go through this. You know you're not alone, right?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, I know. It just hurts so much."_

 _"_ _Do you want to tell me what was going through your head?"_

 _"_ _I was thinking about how I couldn't have pups. Sure, maybe all alphas aren't like Nathaniel, but any alpha would probably like to have pups of their own with their omega. I started thinking about how much of a disappointment I'll end up being, even to an alpha with better motives than Nathaniel. And I thought about how unlikely the possibility is for me to get another alpha. I mean, I want to have an alpha. You know how it is, I think. There's just a natural desire to have a mate, to find an alpha who loves you and cares for you. But I'm not mating material anymore. I've lost a mate, so that's hard to deal with, and I can't have pups, and I've been tainted. No one's ever gonna want me, and I just felt so desperate at the thought of being alone for the rest of my life…"_

 _"_ _Harry, can I share some things with you?"_

 _"_ _Please do."_

 _"_ _Well, for one thing, not all alphas actually want pups. When Sirius and I first mated, we had trouble conceiving at first, and I feared the worst, even though I had known Sirius for so many years. It's almost expected of an alpha to get mad if their omega can't conceive. Sirius was great about it, though. He told me he didn't really mind. Besides, with the war going on and all those missions everyone was being sent on, we had our hands full helping your parents look out for you and you were already practically ours anyway. You sort of always had two sets of parents. My point is that Sirius didn't care at all that we couldn't have pups, so not all alphas care._

 _"_ _And I know how you feel about wanting an alpha. When Sirius was in Azkaban, and I knew he was innocent, it killed me to be separated from him. He sent me a letter one time, telling me to find someone else because he didn't think he'd ever get out of there. I refused, but it was hard to be away from him. I just felt like we could make things right again one day. I know how you feel in wanting an alpha though, and some days are worse than others, but the best thing you can do is what you're doing now – surround yourself with people who love you, and you'll be okay. If you ever want to talk about what you're feeling, I'm always here for you, and Ron, Hermione, and Sirius are as well._

 _"_ _As far as losing your mate goes – that's something that will be healed. It will take time, but you will be able to move on. And any alpha who turns you down because you might get in a bad mood because you miss someone else sometimes is hardly an alpha worth having. While I would like you to be able to find someone again, I want that someone to be worth his salt. A truly good alpha won't care about your shortcomings – he'll look at the good things in you. What's this about being tainted, though?"_

 _Harry looked at Remus. "Where's Sirius?" he asked._

 _"_ _I don't actually know. He went out somewhere."_

 _"_ _Okay, because I've only told my counselor about this, and Ron because I needed to talk to someone. Please don't tell anyone about this – not until I'm ready."_

 _"_ _Promise," Remus said._

 _"_ _I didn't realize what was actually going on until I described it to my counselor and he put it into words. Nathaniel was treating me really badly. He yelled at me and hit me around and it sort of all comes down to… he abused me, and… well… he… raped me. He ruined me, in other words."_

 _Remus let out a low growl. The full moon was in two days, so Moony was already aching to come to the surface. Hearing someone had done that to his cub set him really on edge, though. That man needed to be taught a lesson in what happens when you mess with a werewolf's family. If Remus ever had the chance to –_

 _"_ _Remus?" Harry asked weekly._

 _Remus was brought back to the moment he was in. He had stood and was now clutching his wand as he paced the room. Quickly putting his wand away, Remus sat back down gingerly beside Harry. "Sorry," he said. "That just made me very angry, to hear that he'd done that to you. I've half a mind to track him down and make him pay for what he did, but I'm guessing you'd prefer it if I didn't."_

 _"_ _Yeah," Harry said._

 _"_ _But as for your concerns about that turning an alpha away from you, I'll say the same thing I've already said once before. If that makes an alpha not want you for a mate, then the alpha's not worth having."_

 _Harry nodded. Remus had somehow managed to make most of his fears go away, but he still felt shaky from what had just happened. On impulse, Harry leaned toward Remus, and smiled happily when Remus wrapped a gentle arm around his shoulders. He inhaled the older omega's scent and felt that this was what the word_ home _meant to him. He was safe here – safe and loved. Maybe he would be okay after all._

 _"_ _Harry, I just thought of something."_

 _"_ _What's that?"_

 _"_ _Well, I don't want to give you false hope, but perhaps you aren't really completely unable to have pups."_

 _"_ _How do you mean?"_

 _"_ _Perhaps your body recognized the situation you were in. The human body is a very intuitive thing, and I believe your body might have been trying to protect you. An omega's body is very complicated when it comes to having pups. If your body senses you aren't in a positive environment, it may temporarily keep you from getting pregnant. Your body may have made the deduction, based off of how Nathaniel treated you, that it wasn't a good time for you to have pups. You weren't in a good environment. So, there is a possibility that if you ever do get a new mate, you might be able to conceive. Like I said, though. Omega pregnancies are a very difficult thing, and they are so much more unpredictable than most people appreciate." There was a strange note in Remus's voice, and Harry felt compelled to ask him, "What is it?"_

 _Remus took a deep breath before he began to explain. "When you were about to turn a year old, Sirius and I found out that I was pregnant. We were both ecstatic, especially because of the positive side-effect that I wouldn't be transforming until after I gave birth to our cub. Then Sirius was arrested about the time I was four months pregnant. I had a miscarriage a week later. The doctors said it was stress. I didn't know what it was, but it nearly killed me - emotionally, that is. It probably would have if not for Minerva McGonagall. She can be surprisingly tender. She was one of the only people who still kept in touch with me after that night."_

 _After a pause, Harry asked, "So, why don't you have pups now?"_

 _Remus looked at Harry in mild surprise. "No one's told you? I thought surely someone must have mentioned it… An omega can't have pups past the age of 35. It is sometimes possible, but it is highly dangerous and the rare times when it does happen, either the omega or the baby – or both – dies. We had trouble conceiving the first time, and after the miscarriage it was even harder. Once I turned 34, Sirius refused to try anymore because he said he was not going to risk losing me because I was far more important to him than having pups."_

 _"_ _Oh," Harry responded._

 _A long moment of silence passed after that. Then the phone started ringing. Both Ron and Hermione and Sirius and Remus thought it was easier to communicate by telephone sometimes. Remus answered the phone after dislodging himself from Harry, who had still been leaning up against him. "Hello?" he asked._

 _"_ _Remus, it's Hermione. I just got home from work and Harry isn't here and he didn't leave a note, but I thought he might have gone over to your place…"_

 _"_ _Oh, yes," Remus said. "He's here."_

 _"_ _Alright. I just thought I'd make sure he was okay. Could you ask him if he'll be coming back for dinner? It's completely up to him – I just need to know how much food to make."_

 _"_ _Harry, Hermione said it's completely up to you, but she's about to make dinner and she wants to know if you'll be going back there for that. You're more than welcome to eat with Sirius and me."_

 _"_ _I'd like to eat with you," Harry said. It was nice spending time with Remus, and now that he'd finished with his embarrassing, personal conversation, he was looking forward to Sirius getting home from wherever he was – not that Harry didn't enjoy talking to Sirius; he just didn't always want to talk to an alpha about some of his issues._

 _"_ _He's staying here for dinner," Remus answered._

 _"_ _Alright. Tell him I said hello."_

 _"_ _Will do," Remus said before hanging up._

 _"_ _I forgot to leave a note, didn't I?"_

 _"_ _No harm done," Remus assured him._

* * *

When Harry got home from his last session, he was greeted by an empty house, which he was grateful for. Things were getting a little complicated as far as Snape was concerned, and after that session he needed some time to think things through. _If_ Snape was actually attracted to him, then maybe it might be nice to spend some time with him, get to know him, and from there… who knows? But of course, Snape might not even be attracted to him. He wasn't a bad guy, though. Harry had seen first-hand how gentle and tender the man really was on the inside, and his attitude toward Harry every time he picked up a potion was certainly proof enough that the Potions Master didn't loath Harry as he used to think. Would Snape truly want to be mated to Harry, though? Harry knew Snape was unmated, but he didn't know if he was interested in a mate or not, and if he was, that still brought back the question of whether or not he was actually attracted to Harry. Oh, it was a mess.

 _Harry walked into the apothecary, and there stood Severus. So tall and dark and amazingly breathtaking. "Harry," he greeted, reaching out a hand for Harry to take. Harry did so, and then Severus's other hand was on his cheek, caressing it, before it stroked through his untamable hair. "You look beautiful," Severus told him, and all he could do was hope with all of his heart that it was true. Harry was about to respond when a loud bang was heard behind him—_

Harry woke with a start. He hadn't meant to fall asleep on the couch, and Ron's entrance into the house had just woke him up. When Ron saw Harry, looking like he'd just had a uselessly short nap, he quickly said, "Sorry, mate. I didn't mean to wake you."

"No it's quite alright. Not like I was having an utterly fantastic dream or anything," Harry grumbled.

Ron smiled at Harry. It was good to hear the good-natured sarcasm coming from Harry – even if it was directed at him. "So, how was your day?"

"Fine, yours?"

"No complaints," Ron said. "I don't suppose Hermione's back?"

"No, not unless she snuck by me," Harry said, not entirely sure how long he'd been snoozing.

"Alright," Ron replied before going about his usual post-work routine.

* * *

 ** _AN: Thanks again for all reviews/favorites/follows! They really are appreciated. I make no promises, but I should have the next chapter posted within this week if not in a few days._**


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN: I guess I'm posting another chapter. (Not) sorry I'm not more predictable about posting, but doing it routinely never works out very well. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Severus was in the back room taking inventory when he heard the front door open. He hoped it was Harry coming in – he hadn't seen the other man in a while and it was about that time when Harry normally dropped by. He was disappointed when he saw one of his other fairly regular customers in his front room. "Ethan, how are you?" he asked, feeling he should at least be polite – after all, it wasn't the other man's fault that he wasn't a certain omega that Severus had a certain interest in.

"I'm not bad, how about you?" Ethan asked.

"I have no complaints. What can I do for you?"

"I need some pain-relieving potion. Just a mild bit. I need to re-stock my emergency kit, you see."

"Ah," was all Severus said in response. As he retrieved the potion, he considered asking Ethan how he should proceed with Harry. He knew Ethan's vocation, and he wasn't sure who else he could ask. He decided he had nothing to lose. "Could I ask you a question?" he requested as he accepted payment from Ethan. "It is something I have been struggling with and I believe a man of your profession would be the best at answering. It is borderline personal, though."

"Ask away. I won't even charge you for it," Ethan said with a smile.

"It is in regards to a certain omega I know. It would be unwise of me to tell you who he is. I have felt myself attracted to him since the first time he came to buy potions from me several months ago. I knew him before then, but he is so much younger than me I never even considered I might have an attraction to him until recently. The first time he came here, he had a mate, but since then his alpha kicked him out. It has been a few months since then, but I am unsure whether it would be a good idea to request a courtship with him. I do not want to take advantage of him, as I am sure his emotions must be scrambled, and I don't want to move too fast for him, either."

Ethan felt like he might know who the omega was, in which case the omega would be very happy to accept a request for courtship – however, he did not wish to make presumptions, so he assumed he did not know the omega. "Is this omega seeking help in his situation? That could be a telling factor. If he is seeking help, his emotional state is much better off than it would be if he was not seeking help."

"I know he has help from friends – he has moved in with two of his former school mates –and from what I understand he is also seeing a professional."

"Well, in that case, he is probably stable enough – for lack of a better term – to turn you down if he is unready or not attracted to you. I think it will be good for you both if you ask him to dinner, and proceed to ask for a long-term courtship from there if the two of you find you get along."

"Thank you, that is most helpful," Severus said.

"Anytime," Ethan returned as he walked out the door. He had to fight to keep the grin off of his face as he saw Harry approaching the apothecary. It seemed he was right, and he truly believed Harry had healed to a point where he might be ready to start a new relationship with the right person, and Severus just might fit the bill. "Hello, Harry," he greeted him.

"Oh, hello Ethan. How are you doing?"

"Quite well, thank you. And yourself?"

"I'm alright," Harry said cheerfully, very glad that it was true. He still couldn't help thinking he had narrowly escaped the black hole many people like him fell into. After a few months of living with Ron and Hermione – he really should think about trying to find his own place soon – he thought he was pretty much out of the woods, although it was general consensus that he should still stick to his sessions with Ethan for a while yet.

"Good to hear," Ethan said as he watched Harry walk into Severus's shop.

"Hello," Harry greeted when he saw Severus behind the counter.

"Hello, Harry," Severus answered. Harry noticed he looked a bit nervous, and he found himself wondering why. "So, it will be the usual, I presume?"

"Yeah," Harry said. When Severus returned with the heat-suppressing potion, Harry said, "Thanks, Severus." It didn't even cross his mind that this was the first time he'd called the older man by his first name, but Severus definitely noticed.

"You're welcome, Harry," he answered. Before he could chicken out, he said to him, "Could I ask you something?"

"Sure," Harry said, uncertain what he had planned but also knowing nothing bad could come of a question – could it? Besides, there was always that small chance that the alpha was interested in Harry the way Harry was interested in him.

"Before I ask this of you, I'd like to point out that it will change nothing if you choose to say no." When Harry just nodded, Severus continued. "Harry, if you would like, it would be my pleasure to take you out to dinner this Saturday."

Harry was floored by the question. Saturday? But it was already Monday, and that gave him less than a week to prepare. Not that he had any plans. And he was certainly not opposed to Severus taking him out to eat. "I'd love that," he finally breathed out – and it was a struggle. "But wait, what will that mean, exactly? Just so I know we're on the same page."

"Well, the way I was envisioning things, our first dinner together would be a testing of the waters. Then, if we both decided we were interested, I'd like to proceed into a courtship, which may or may not bloom into something more. But if at any time you wish to stop things, or take them slower, let me know and it will be done."

"That's – thank you. Not everyone would say that," Harry said. "I really appreciate it."

"It is only common courtesy," Severus said, thought he beamed on the inside at the omega being so appreciative of him. "So, shall I pick you up at 7:00?"

"Sure," Harry said. "Where will we be going? I mean, how should I dress?"

"There's a nice, casual café I have in mind."

"Good," Harry said, warming to the idea. "Oh, I should warn you. I'm obviously going to have to tell Hermione and Ron about this, since you're going to be picking me up from their house. As a result, I'll also have to tell Sirius and Remus. Both of them are definitely going to want to talk to you and give you a very thorough explanation of how they expect me to be treated. Possibly Ron and Hermione as well. Definitely Sirius, though."

"I'll bear that in mind. Speaking of which, could I have Ron and Hermione's address?"

"Right, of course," Harry said, scribbling it down on a sheet of paper with one of the Muggle pens he kept with him for convenience. "Here"

"Thank you, Harry."

"You're welcome, Severus. I'll see you Saturday night, then." When Harry left, he found himself heading in the direction of Sirius and Remus's house, rather than the one he was currently sharing with Ron and Hermione. Talking with Remus about this would be good. Very helpful.

"Harry," Sirius said as he answered the door. Then he took a better look and noticed his godson looked somewhat flustered. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. Great really. I think. Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to Remus about something?"

"Sure, I think he's reading some book he's already read fifty times before. If you like I can send him to the kitchen?"

"Sounds fine," Harry said. Sirius pulled him into a brief hug before letting go, ruffling his hair, and going to hunt down the resident werewolf. Harry, meanwhile, busied himself with making hot chocolate in the kitchen. Two cups were ready by the time Remus came in, looking mildly concerned.

"Is everything alright? Sirius said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, I do. I need your advice on something really important."

"What is it?"

"So, you know how I've been getting heat suppressants lately from this privately owned apothecary?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's the same place where I got my last couple of doses of the potion that was supposed to help me conceive." Somehow, that was still a little hard to talk about that. "Anyway, even before Nathaniel kicked me out, I thought the bloke who owns the place was attractive, so it's not just my currently screwed up emotional state – I've been attracted to him since my emotions were relatively in order. I've been steadily growing more attracted to him, though. It's developed from appreciation of an attractive alpha, to a crush, to almost being in love with him, but I'm a bit hesitant to take it as far as to say that. Then, today, he asked me out to dinner Saturday night, and I said yes. We decided that after Saturday night we would decide where we wanted to take it from there. He said that if we both like the idea at that point, he'd like to court me. Then he pointed out that I was free to tell him no, or to slow down, at any time. I mean, I've been buying my potions from him and he's not an idiot, so he sort of knows what's going on in my life, to a certain extent. He just seems so great!

"But then things get complicated, because I am a newly un-mated omega, and that's a complexity in and of itself. Then there's the fact that he's quite a bit older than me. Not to mention we used to know each other before the first time I walked into his apothecary and we didn't exactly get along well, then. Things have changed a lot though, and I really want this, but I'm not sure if my heart or my head either one knows what it's doing, and I'm concerned it might be too soon, even though my counselor did say I'm probably ready."

"I see," Remus said. "Could you tell me this mysterious man's identity?"

"You have to promise not to freak out, first," Harry said.

"Promise," Remus agreed.

"It's Severus Snape."

Remus felt both of his eyebrows approach his hairline. "Really? Well, I must admit I didn't expect that."

"So, what do you think about him in general?"

"Well, I admit we never got along during school, but we became amicable acquaintances and almost friends during the last war. He seems to be a good man. The age difference doesn't bother me, of course. Things between alphas and omegas can be very strange at times. I once knew a couple that mated when the alpha was 20 and the omega was 60, and they probably fit together better than any other couple I have witnessed, so age really doesn't matter if that's something you're really worried about."

"So, everything else aside, you approve of him as a person for me to be in a relationship with?"

"Yes," Remus said with certainty. "Of course, you might have to use some persuasion on Sirius."

"Right. That's sort of why I wanted to talk to you first. But what about it being too soon? Do you think I should hold off on looking to start a relationship?"

"It's been several months, Harry. I think the timing is just fine. You said your counselor believes you are ready?"

"Yeah," Harry answered.

"Well, I think this is a good thing. I think it has been a safe amount of time for you to enter a new relationship. In my professional opinion, I think the right alpha for you would be someone who is supportive of you, isn't afraid to give you space when you need it, and won't push you too hard for something after you say no, and I honestly think that Severus fits into all of those categories. That being said, I know I'd like to have a conversation with the man, and I'm sure Sirius will as well, and we'll all be checking on you periodically to see how you're faring."

"Sounds good," Harry said. "So, should we go and tell Sirius, now?"

"Probably," Remus said, leading the way to where Sirius was relaxing on the sitting room couch. "Harry has something he'd like to share," Remus told him.

"I'm all ears," Sirius said as he sat up a little straighter.

"So, I've been buying my potions from this bloke since before Nathaniel kicked me out, and I've been finding him attractive since then. He knows I've recently become un-mated – because I'm buying my potions from him, you know? Then, today, he asked me to eat dinner with him on Saturday night. He said that if things go well, he'd like to discuss a courtship with me, and then we'll see how things go from there. He was really clear that if I ever want to take things slower or if I want to end things altogether, all I have to do is say so and it's done. I said yes to dinner Saturday night, by the way."

"Alright, well who is he?" Sirius asked.

"Severus Snape."

Sirius was silent for several moments after that. He had not seen that coming in the least. "I assume this is what you and Remus were discussing?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"And what are your thoughts? I get the feeling you know a few more details than I do," Sirius said, without sounding like he was angry or throwing accusations around.

"I think he should go for it. He briefly described the nature or his dealings with Severus, and the man seems to be truly different than the boy we grew up alongside. I think this will be good for Harry. As you know, the age gap means nothing, and I think Harry's had enough time since things eneded with Nathaniel to be able to judge the situation in a discerning manner."

"Well, alright then," Sirius said, knowing his judgment of Severus was slightly clouded, while Remus was better at being objective. He trusted his mate's judgment. "I want to talk with Snape though. Before Saturday."

"Yes, and I'd like to go with you," Remus agreed.

"Where is his apothecary?" asked Sirius.

Harry told him the address.

"I think tomorrow will be a good day to take care of this," Sirius suggested.

"Fine with me," said Remus.

* * *

Severus was re-arranging a bit in his front room, having decided that it needed a little bit of a renovation, when two men walked inside. When he looked at them, he felt his gut twist. Harry's guardians. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous about what they might say. "Can I help you with something?" he asked.

"We were just wondering if we could have a nice talk?" Remus said.

"I think I know what this is about, but yes, we can have a talk."

"Well, since you're so knowledgeable, I'll get straight to the point," said Sirius, getting close to Severus. "I know you don't know details – I don't know them all myself – but you know Harry's been through a lot lately. If you so much as dream about putting him through more, you'll regret it. If you hurt Harry in any way, I will not stop until I have made your life completely horrible. You will treat him with respect, as he deserves, and you will listen to him and not force anything on him, am I clear?"

"Very," Severus said. "I have no intentions of hurting Harry. Of that I can assure you. If you'd like to test me under veritaserum, be my guest."

"No, I don't believe we'll go that far," Remus said, ever the voice of reason. He was also a werewolf, though, and he had a cub to protect. "We will be watching you, though. And Harry. If Harry seems distressed or hurt physically or emotionally, then know that we will be coming for you."

"Understood," said Severus. He watched as the two walked out his door. Well, if he _had_ been planning on hurting Harry, that probably would have changed his mind.

* * *

 ** _AN: So, Harry and Severus are finally making some progress. About time, right? Thanks for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting/whatever it is you do. I really appreciate it all. Next chapter coming soon!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_AN: Here's the next chapter, and it's the longest one yet. Enjoy!  
_**

* * *

Saturday night came much earlier than Harry would have liked. It was 6:30 and he'd been standing in front of his closet for about an hour, trying to decide what to wear, when he heard someone knock on his bedroom door. "Come in," he called after throwing a shirt on over his bare chest. It wouldn't do for Hermione or Ron to see the scars hidden there. Scars no one but Harry, Nathaniel, and one faceless healer knew about.

Hermione walked inside the room. "What have you been up to in here?" she asked curiously. He had left to his room without a word some time ago, and he supposed he had been relatively quiet.

"I can't decide what to wear," he admitted quietly, slightly embarrassed.

"Would you like a recommendation?" Hermione asked.

"Please!" Harry said, definitely _not_ sounding desperate.

Hermione stepped up beside him to get a good look at his clothes. "Where are you going exactly?"

"Well, I don't know for sure, but he said it was a casual café."

"Hm. How about these pants and this shirt?" she asked, pulling said clothes out of the closet.

"Sure," Harry said. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Hermione said warmly before leaving the room.

Harry quickly dressed. A few moments later Ron knocked on his door. "Come in." Harry called, and Ron did so.

"You look nice," he said. Hermione had mentioned to him that Harry had had a hard time getting dressed, and he didn't think the comment could hurt.

"Thanks," Harry said. "What's up?"

"Just thought I'd let you know Snape's here. Sirius and Remus are currently having a private conversation with him, though. Can you guess what that's about?"

* * *

Snape approached the door of the address he'd been given. He had decided to arrive ten minutes early because he had a feeling that Sirius and Remus would also be at the house and everyone would want plenty of time to explain things to him as Sirius and Remus had earlier. It was Ron who answered the door. "Snape," he said evenly as he opened the door wider to grant him admittance.

"Hello," Snape said.

"I guess you're here to pick up Harry?" Ron asked.

"That would be correct."

"Listen, I'm sure Remus and Sirius have already somehow found a time to thoroughly threaten you if you do anything to Harry, but I'd like to say something to you. Harry's my best mate, and he's like the younger brother I never had. Consequently, I care about him quite a bit and I might not have been top of my class but I'm not a complete imbecile either so if you do anything that you shouldn't, keep in mind that I know plenty of spells and have perfected most of them. You shouldn't be shocked if after doing something you shouldn't, you're hit with a knee-reversal hex, stinging hex, bat-bogey hex, flagrante curse (which can be used on people, thank you), jelly-fingers curse, and of course the slug-vomiting charm, not to mention I might hex your balls off. And that's if I don't get more creative between now and then."

"I do not plan to do anything harmful to Harry, but your statement has been dually noted, and I would also like to say that you have my full permission to act as you like if I do something bad to Harry and therefore incur your wrath."

"Well, good," Ron said, somewhat surprised by the agreeable response.

"Ron, would you give us a moment with Severus?" Remus asked as he and Sirius entered the entryway.

"Sure. I'll just tell Harry you're here," Ron said.

* * *

"I can only imagine what they're saying," Harry said, sighing a little.

"You alright, mate?" Ron asked in concern.

"No. I'm more nervous than I can ever remember being before. I don't think I was even this scared when I faced Voldemort."

"What exactly are you nervous about, other than the fact that you're about to go on a date?"

"I feel like I'm going to screw something up. He's the only man I have any interest in right now, the only one I can see myself having an interest in for a very long time, and I don't want to lose my shot at this. I'm trying not to go too fast, but really, I sort of miss having a mate and I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life. I really want things to work out, but I'm sure I'll do something monumentally stupid and ruin everything."

"Harry, let me say something. This is your first date with the man, so odds are something is going to go wrong."

"Well, thanks," Harry said dryly, completely unimpressed.

"I'm not done. As I was saying, I've never known of a first date in any form to go well. That being said, I completely messed up my first date with Hermione. I spilled butter beer all over myself and her, and she laughed so long, I thought it was over, that she thought I was even more of an idiot than she'd imagined. Then she just leaned in and kissed me and it turned out great, until we started going to different shops and I knocked down an entire display of snow globes in this Muggle shop. They all completely fell apart and water went everywhere and I couldn't use magic to clean it up because there were Muggles everywhere. The shopkeeper got really angry, because of course he was standing _right there_ and he started yelling at me and I was sure I would have to buy the whole set. Then Hermione did some wordless, wandless magic bit and made them all fix themselves and made the shopkeeper think they had all fallen down and not broken. She got him to calm down and we left. Once again, I thought things were over, that she'd had to pick up the second mess I'd made in only an hour, that she was finished with me once and for all, but she never held it against me. My point is that the first date isn't everything. Hermione and I are happily together and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon, and it happened despite our first date being a failure."

"Thanks, Ron," Harry said, meaning it this time. "That actually helps a lot. When did you get so good at cheering people up?"

"What are you talking about? I've always been great at it," Ron said in mock outrage. At Harry's dubious expression, Ron said, "Well, I've been reading up on it actually. You see, I've got to start getting good at that sort of thing. We've been trying to find a good time to tell everyone in one go so no one is offended they weren't told first, but I'm getting impatient myself and Hermione might kill me for telling you now instead of waiting, but we found out last week that Hermione's pregnant," Ron said in almost one breath.

Harry beamed at his best friend, and briefly considered it was probably a good sign of his mental health that he didn't feel bitter toward them. "That's great Ron," he said.

"Thanks Harry," Ron said, glad to see the smile on his friend's face. It was nice to know he had almost completely removed the nerves from Harry's attitude. "Oh, gosh. I didn't mean to compare you to a child. I'm just trying to say I'm going to have to start—well that doesn't sound much better…"

"Ron, I understand. Now, it's 7:00 so why don't we go downstairs?"

* * *

"So, you remember what we told you earlier this week, I presume," Sirius said.

"Of course," Severus answered.

"Good, because we'd hate for you to forget it," Remus said. "Oh, and make sure you _bring him home_ before too late."

"I understand," Severus said.

"Wonderful. Now, would you like to sit on the couch with us and socialize like the friends we might just become?" Remus invited.

"Why not?" Severus agreed. He tried to pay attention but ended up only half-listened to the conversation at hand. He was thinking of Harry, waiting for Harry. He really hoped the younger man hadn't changed his mind in the week since they had seen one another. There were several possible setbacks. For one thing, there was the age difference. It was no issue for Severus, but that said nothing for how Harry might feel. And of course, they hadn't gotten along particularly well in the past. Not to mention Harry was in a shaky spot at the moment. Severus still knew next to nothing about the details of how Harry's relationship with his former alpha ended.

Then Harry was walking into the sitting room and Severus's rambling thoughts were reigned in. "Hello," he said.

"Harry," Severus said. "How are you?"

"Great, you?"

"Good," Severus said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Harry said. After bidding everyone goodbye, Severus apparated them to the café he had in mind. It was a Muggle place, but Severus had found he quite enjoyed going to Muggle establishments, especially since he was unknown there. Harry probably felt the same way, he idly reflected.

"This looks nice," Harry said upon walking in.

"I hoped you might like it," Severus agreed. "Come with me. We are supposed to seat ourselves and then wait to be served. I have a usual table towards the back if that suits you?"

"I don't particularly care. That's the good thing about Muggle places – I don't have to worry about people ogling my scar no matter where I sit."

Severus paused a moment. He had always assumed Harry had grown up pampered and that he quite adored his fame, but the man had never, in the years Severus had known him, given him real reason to think that way. It was something he should pay more attention to, he decided. Perhaps it was time to consider the parts of Harry's personality that were only assumptions on Severus's part and did not correlate with his actions.

"Wow," Harry said upon looking at the menu. "Everything sounds amazing."

"Order what you like," Severus felt the need to clarify. "I'm covering the tab and money is no object."

"You're sure about that?" Harry asked, not because he wanted to order any of the more expensive dishes, but because he wanted to make sure the other man truly wanted to do so out of more than just obligation.

"I'm sure, or I wouldn't have said," Severus said. "I'm sorry," he amended. "I don't mean to be brash. I'm not the best at being gentle with words."

For whatever reason, that got Harry laughing. "You don't have to apologize to me for that," he said. "I completely understand. I may not be in the best place right now, but I'm not some sort of fragile flower. I'm not going to think you hate me because of one little sentence, unless of course, you say you hate me."

"Not even I would be that blunt," Severus said, earning a smile from the man sitting across from him.

"So, I still can't really decide what I want. What do you recommend?"

"I usually get the house sandwich," Severus informed him.

"Well, that sounds good to me," Harry agreed. After Severus had ordered their meals, Harry asked him, "Where are we, exactly?"

"Surrey," Severus answered. Harry must have paled at that, because Severus shot him a questioning look.

"It's nothing," Harry said. He wasn't ready to share that bit of his past with Severus just yet. He might tell him later, depending on how things progressed.

"Are you sure?" asked Severus, a little worried.

"I'm sure," Harry said.

"Alright," Severus relented.

They were almost done eating when things started to go wrong. They'd been having a great conversation, Harry and Severus were both finding they like each other quite a bit, when a very large man approached their table, followed by a horse-faced woman who looked somehow familiar to Severus. They were both scowling expertly.

"What do you think you're doing here?" the man demanded, looking right at Harry.

"I'm sorry?" Harry asked.

"I know you heard me," he said. "Your kind aren't welcome here!"

Severus looked at Harry, wondering if he should say something, and wondering exactly what the man meant by 'your kind'. "So you own this place then?" Harry asked defiantly.

"No, but I know the owner and if I told him the kind of freak you are he'd have you banned and arrested in a heartbeat."

"Well, you don't own the place so you have no right to kick me out and you know it," Harry said. It felt nice to finally stand up to the whale of a man, even though something inside of him was still terrified.

"No, but I can teach you a lesson. Or I can try at least. You always were a particularly thick child and never could learn, even for your own good, could you?"

Harry felt himself go pale for the second time that night for the same reason – the thought of his childhood spent with his relatives. "Don't you think I'm a bit old for you to be trying to teach me lessons?" he asked, trying to put some malice in his tone. "You know, I'm long out of school, and there's nothing keeping me from using magic now," he told them quietly, so no one in the near vicinity could hear.

"You wouldn't dare!" said Vernon, for he had no way of knowing that Harry wasn't technically supposed to use magic near Muggles if he could help it. Really, though, it was doubtful Harry potter would get into trouble for something as small as that.

"Would you like me to prove to you how wrong you are?" Harry challenged.

"Never mind. I think we'll take our business someplace where freaks like you aren't present. Come along, Petunia."

 _Petunia. Who do I know named Petunia?_ Severus thought. He knew he should be associating something with the name.

Harry slumped down in relief once the Dursleys had left. He did not want to have to deal with them. He'd thought he'd been through with them. Apparently he was poorly mistaken.

Severus noticed Harry looking rather shaken. After quickly covering the bill, he stood up. Harry had been sitting silently for several minutes with no sign of touching his food. "Come. I think a quieter environment might be good."

Harry willingly followed Severus outside, strangely trusting the man. He allowed Severus to take his hand and take both of them to a park somewhere. It was a quiet night with hardly any clouds, cool, but not overly so. The stars looked quite stunning. Severus sat on a bench that sat facing a still pond. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"I don't know," Harry said honestly.

"Would you like to talk about what just happened?"

"I suppose it can't hurt," Harry admitted. "Thanks by the way. You didn't try to do anything, and I appreciate that. I know it sounds strange, but even though it ended horribly, it helped that I was the one standing up to him."

"Of course," Severus said. He'd had an idea that Harry had needed to take care of that on his own.

"They were my relatives. I believe you met the woman years ago. They're Muggles. The woman is my mum's sister, Petunia Dursley, formerly Evans. The man was her husband, Vernon. They were the ones I lived with until I was almost fifteen. It was really hard living in that house. They hated magic and everything to do with it. I grew up without a clue that I was a wizard, and I was always told my parents were lowlifes, and that my dad was a drunk and got them killed in a car crash. According to them, I survived the car crash and that's how I got the scar.

"They had a son that was about a month older than me; his name was Dudley. They always favored him, and it was almost as if they were using that as another way to show me how horrible I was. For example, Dudley was spoiled, overweight because all he did was eat, and he would have a breakdown if he didn't get more presents on his birthday than he had the previous year. Then there was me. I had to sneak food, wear his hand-me-downs, and was lucky if I got a used sock for Christmas.

"They always called me a freak. I never understood it, but I could do things I didn't have much control over. One time my aunt cut my hair when I was still pretty young because she hated how untamable it was. I hated it so much the way it looked once she'd cut it. When I woke up the next morning, it had grown back exactly the way it was before she cut it. She screamed at me and wouldn't let me eat for a week, but she never tried that one again. Then one time I was talking to this snake at the zoo, but I had no idea how. Then, I started feeling sorry for it being locked up the way it was and the next thing I knew the glass in the cage was gone and it was slithering away. Now I know it was accidental magic, but I didn't then.

"They were so obsessed with being normal, and they hated that I wasn't. So, every time I didn't behave, or did something freakish, they'd punish me. They were never physical about it, but they'd yell at me for a while and then lock me in my room, which was the cupboard under the stairs for a while, until I started getting letters from Hogwarts and they thought they could make them stop by making me happy and giving me my cousin's second room."

"I had no idea you grew up in such conditions," Severus said quietly. "If I had known they had put you through that, then I most likely wouldn't have been able to sit there so silently."

Harry noticed that Severus seemed to be seething now. Apparently, he was far from please with their poor treatment of Harry. "There are worse things they could have done, really," Harry said, but somehow that did not seem to placate Severus in the least.

"That doesn't make it acceptable," Severus said. "Just because they didn't do as horribly doesn't amend for the fact that they didn't do nearly as well as they could have. I do not appreciate people treating you like that."

Harry laid a hand on one of Severus's clenched fists. "Hey, it's alright. They won't hurt me again. They're a little too afraid to do anything much, now. Although, I scared them quite a few times when I was younger, I think." There was a smile in Harry's voice as he said it.

"Well, I'm a bit curious now. What you are thinking of?"

"Vernon had a sister, named Marge. She came to visit for a week the summer before my third year. She was talking trash about me and my whole family the whole time, and one day I just lost it. I accidentally 'blew her up' so to speak. She sort of started inflating until she just started floating up to the ceiling. Vernon demanded I put her back, but I didn't actually know how so I just had a yelling match with him long enough for me to pack my trunk and get out of the house before I accidentally summoned the Knight Bus and spent the rest of the holidays in the Leaky Cauldron."

"Well, that certainly sounds like it was an interesting night," Severus said.

"Indeed," Harry agreed. Somehow, he ended up leaning against the older man's side with an arm wrapped around him. "I've had fun," he said. "This was really nice."

"I agree. I wouldn't mind getting to know you better, you know," Severus said. "So, Harry James Potter, it would be my pleasure if you would be so kind as to allow me to court you."

"I would be honored, and gladly accept your offer," Harry said, grinning.

After an hour of sitting by the pond in the park, Severus escorted Harry back to his current place of residence. "I'm glad we did this," he said. "I had a lot of fun with you."

"Yeah, me too," Harry said, looking down shyly at the subtle compliment. "I look forward to seeing you again."

"Speaking of which, how does lunch on Wednesday sound?" Severus asked.

"Fantastic. Oh, no, wait. I have to see my counselor Wednesday at 1:00 and I don't want to be rushed for lunch."

"Suppose we ate at 11:00?" Severus asked. "That would provide two hours. The luxury of owning your own shop is that you get to choose your working hours."

"11:00 sounds wonderful," Harry said. "Where will we go?"

"There's a deli across from my shop. Would you be alright with meeting me there?"

"Of course," Harry said. "Casual attire, I presume?"

"Yes," Severus said. "Well, I supposed I shall see you then."

"Yeah," said Harry. In a rush of boldness, he reached up and gave Severus a chaste peck on the lips. Severus smiled down at him, mildly shocked, before giving him a kiss on the forehead to let him know he liked it. Then they parted ways.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Ron asked when Harry came in the front door.

"Ron!" Harry said. He'd been focused on his date and hadn't expected Ron to be waiting for him. "You scared me."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's alright, and it went great. I mean, there was a minor setback, but it turned out just fine and we're courting now and I'm eating lunch with him on Wednesday."

"That's great. So you do like him? Really like him?"

"Definitely. He can be sweet and gentle when he wants to be, it just takes a lot to get that out of him, and I think it's finally showing through now because he knows I know more about him now that the war is over."

"I see. So what was that minor setback?" Ron asked curiously.

"Well, we were eating at this Muggle café, which was really nice because, most of the time, people in Muggle London have no clue who I am. Then the Dursleys showed up, and it got bad. It was just my aunt and uncle, but to be honest that probably just made everything worse. They started yelling at me and telling me that 'freaks' like me aren't welcome in that place. I got pretty shaken up so Severus took us to this park and it was really pretty there and after I calmed down some I told him about my childhood, I guess. He kind of has a protective streak apparently because he said if he'd had any idea that was how they'd treated me then he basically would have had some choice words for them."

"Well, he just got my approval," said Ron almost jokingly. He hated the Dursleys with a passion for what they'd done to Harry and was a fan of anyone who shared his dislike for them, although it was rare to find someone who disliked them as much as Ron did. Sirius and Remus topped him, but not by much.

"Were you waiting up for me?" Harry asked curiously. It wasn't very late, but he didn't see Hermione anywhere and assumed she'd gone to bed.

"No. Hermione went to bed early because she was tired, but I wasn't all that tired so I've just been sitting here trying to convince myself to pick up a book."

"Good luck with that one. Hermione's been stubbornly trying to get you to do that for years and hasn't succeeded and she's one of the most stubborn people I know. If she can't do it I'm not sure anyone can."

"You are in a good mood," was Ron's only response to the minor jab.

* * *

 _ **AN: There you have it. I'd love some feedback :)**_


	8. Chapter 8

**_AN: I'm being pretty inconsistent with my chapter lengths. Sorry about that. I just couldn't find an earlier spot to end this chapter. I think many of you will enjoy something I have in mind for one character in this story..._**

* * *

The next Monday night, only a few days after he had agreed to allow Severus to court him, Harry had a bad night. Nightmares had been a problem for him most of his life. Nathaniel had helped keep them at bay, but after losing Nathaniel they had come back. Going to counseling had eventually helped to the point that they were not even a weekly occurrence anymore, but when they did come, they make his nights hell.

 _Harry went into Severus's apothecary to meet him for lunch, as they had planned. They were going to eat it in the back room. Severus had just finished with a customer when Harry came through the door. "Harry, I'm glad you could come," Severus said after putting out the notice that he was 'out to lunch'._

 _"_ _I'm glad I could, too," Harry answered as he followed Severus to the privacy they both enjoyed, where they didn't have to worry about people staring or writing to the_ Daily Prophet _about them._

 _They finished eating before Harry knew it and suddenly Severus had gotten very close to him on the couch they were sharing. "I have been looking forward to this all week," Severus breathed in his ear, but something was off about the man's voice. It almost sounded like…_

 _Suddenly it wasn't Severus, but Nathaniel who was sitting next to him, practically on top of him. He was reaching for Harry, then touching him, groping him, molesting him. "No, no, please stop," Harry begged, but it did nothing._

Ron woke up to the sound of screaming coming from Harry's room. He saw Hermione was awake, too. "Stay here," he told her. He wasn't sure what was in the other room, but he didn't want to put his wife at risk while she was pregnant - or ever, really. Luckily he got no argument. He picked up his wand before running into the room Harry was inhabiting. He had expected to see an intruder, but he knew immediately he had been wrong. After sharing a dorm with Harry for so many years, it was hard to miss the obvious signs of him having a nightmare. He also knew just how to wake Harry up.

Leaving the lights off, he stepped over to Harry's bed and, before Harry could hurt him, wrapped his arms around Harry's upper body – arms and all. He held on tight and began to whisper to him that, "Everything's alright," and "You're safe here." He kept a firm hold on Harry, keeping him from hurting himself or Ron.

When Harry woke up, he felt arms wrapped around him and tried to fight for a brief moment before he realized the arms felt safe. Without much thought, Harry relaxed and breathed in the scent he associated with Ron, a safe scent that calmed his racing heart. As he started calming, he started thinking as well. Why couldn't he just get over what had happened to him? He'd made progress, but it was taking so much time and he just wanted to move on. Now it was interfering with his relationship with Severus and what it might be developing into, it seemed. Why couldn't he just grow up? "I'm sorry," he said to Ron.

"Don't be," Ron said to him. "There's no reason for you to be. You've just had a nightmare. You aren't the only one who has them, you know. It's not like it's something you can really control."

"But I should be past this by now," Harry protested.

"What exactly did you dream about?" Ron asked, not sure exactly what issue he needed to address.

"Nathaniel. I was on a date with Severus, and then he turned into Nathaniel all of a sudden and started… touching me."

"Harry, it's perfectly understandable for you to still be having trouble with that," Ron assured him. "There's nothing wrong with the fact that you're still recovering from everything that happened to you. I think that you know in your head Severus is never going to behave the way that Nathaniel did, but it's a natural fear to have in your heart, or your subconscious, that he might. It's not going to happen, but you've just made a big step in your life by agreeing to court him and you're going to have to adjust accordingly. That might mean you have a little trouble dealing with some things. You were hurt bad Harry, real bad. It's not going to just go away. You might have trouble with getting close in any way with an alpha, other than Sirius, for a while. You're making good progress, though. You just have to be patient. As my mum would always say when I had troubles, this too shall pass."

"Thank, Ron," Harry said quietly, still feeling relaxed and safe in the other's arms. Even though Ron was another man, he felt alright with him. He was Harry's school mate, a brother of sorts, and not an alpha. He supposed the only alpha he felt comfortable with now really was Sirius. That was okay, though, because he was making progress. He'd had a nightmare, but it somehow still didn't keep him from looking forward to his next time of seeing Severus.

* * *

When Harry apparated to the street where Severus's store was located that Wednesday, it wasn't long before he heard someone call his name and saw Severus leaving his shop.

"How are you?" he asked Harry.

"Great. You?"

"No complaints," Severus said. The two walked to the deli together, hand-in-hand, and Harry smiled at the contact. He really did like physical contact with the alpha. It was weird thinking about much had changed about both of them that they were holding hands like this. Harry wasn't even sure who had instigated it. After the nightmare Harry'd had a few nights ago, he was actually shocked at how he felt holding the other man's had now.

After ordering their lunches, Harry and Severus were quiet for a few minutes until Severus finally spoke. "I want to ask you something Harry, but you by no means have to answer, alright?" Harry just nodded, so Severus continued. "You mentioned you had to see your counselor today?"

"Yes," Harry said, not entirely sure what Severus was leading up to.

"I assumed this has something to do with the cessation of your previous relationship?"

"Yeah. That's what I meant all those months ago when I said that I was getting help."

"I'm glad," Severus said. "I was truly worried about you when I realized what had happened. I was wondering if it would be too forward of me to ask how you're doing in that respect, and if your counselor is helping?"

"I'm actually doing really well, and it's not too forward of you to ask. I get where you are coming from and I'm glad you care enough to ask. I've had a few setbacks with getting over everything. I honestly don't think I'd even still be alive if I had stopped to think about things before I went to Ron and Hermione's house, but I just went straight over. Sirius and Remus were out of town at the time. Hermione sort of insisted I see a counselor who works close to her, and his name is Ethan. He's a beta, just so you know. He's helped me work through everything. Like I said, I've had some setbacks, but I'm not depressed and Ethan says I'm doing very well with moving on and I'm doing so in a healthy manner. I only go to counseling once a month now, which is a good sign, I think, considering I started out going once a week. I'm not completely back to normal, but I'm doing much better than you would probably expect. I mean, not necessarily you specifically, just, you know, the general population represented by the word you," Harry finished off awkwardly.

"That's good," Severus said before the two of them finished eating in silence.

"Well, we've still got about thirty minutes before I need to leave," Harry said a few minutes after he and Severus had both finished eating. "Is there anything fun to do around here?"

"Not particularly, unless you consider an apothecary fun. My shop is one of the few establishments in the area that is open to the public."

"We could go back there, I guess. I'd rather not go home for thirty minutes and then just have to leave again. If I wouldn't be in your way in there or something."

"You are never in my way, Harry. The closest thing you could ever get to being in my way is being a pleasant distraction from the monotony that was my life," Severus said. He could have slapped himself. That sounded so much more immature and cheesy and mushy than he had intended. It seemed to get his point across, though, as Harry blushed.

"You mean that?" he asked timidly. Nathaniel had always said he got in the way – either he was holding him back or not doing what he wanted or he was just blocking the light.

"Harry, I will never say anything to you that I do not mean," Severus said. "At least, I don't intend to," he amended. There might be a time when he lost his temper and got carried away, and he did not want his words to come and bit him on the arse in that case. He would try to safeguard against such things in the future, but he had no way of knowing it would never happen. Accidents always tend to happen, and far too often around the things that matter most.

Harry quickly lost track of time helping Severus do random things in the apothecary and soon he was rushing to make his appointment on time. "Hey Ethan," he greeted when he walked into the man's office.

"Harry, good to see you," Ethan answered him. "You seem to be in a good mood."

"I'm in a great mood," answered Harry. "I just spent a couple of hours with Severus."

Ethan smiled. So it was Severus Snape that Harry had been interested in. "So are the two of you courting now?"

"Yes, and it's one of the best things to have happened to me for a while."

"Why don't you tell me about what the two of you have been up to?"

"Well, we went to this Muggle café on Saturday, and it was really nice. I mean, there was one awkward moment, but we worked through it. Then we spent the rest of the night in this park. Today we just had lunch together and then we spent some time together in his apothecary, not doing much. It was a lot of fun and I really, really like being around him."

"What was the awkward moment?" asked Ethan.

"Well, like I said it was a Muggle place, and you know I was raised by my mum's relatives, who are Muggles, and they sort of showed up. It was really awkward for me just seeing them again because of the way they treated me, which I've already explained to you, of course. Severus was great about it, though. I actually explained my childhood to them. He seemed a little angry at them…"

"Is something bothering you?" Ethan asked at the troubled look on Harry's face.

"Well, it just occurred to me that Nathaniel was technically the second time I was abused, the first being by the Dursleys, even though it was more a case of neglect with the Dursleys. You don't think there's something wrong with me, do you? That maybe I just attract that sort of thing, or maybe I even flock to it, or something?"

"I don't think you flock to it, that's for sure. As for something being wrong with you, I'd say no. Yes, the Dursleys abused you for most of your first fifteen years, but then you moved in with Sirius and Remus, and they treated you fine, unless there's something you're hiding from me," Ethan said, winking to make it clear he wasn't trying to accuse the two men of something. "You went through several years without abuse and it did you good, then you experienced two years, I believe, more of it and that's over now. Severus doesn't sound like he's abusive, so unless something drastic changes, then you probably won't be in any more abusive relationships in the future. Cases like yours are rare, but not unheard of, and they do not mean that there is something wrong with you."

"Alright," Harry said. Then he asked, "Is there any way for me to tell now whether Severus will turn out the same way Nathaniel did?"

"Not for sure, no. Only time will guarantee any kind of answer on that. There are some indications you can look for though – a list of ten signs. Would you like for me to write them down for you so you can keep an eye out regarding Severus or any other possible relationships. It's not just romantic relationships, and things with Severus _might_ not work out."

"That'd be great, actually," Harry said.

"I'll do that now. I can talk and write, so we can continue our discussion while I write."

"I don't really have any other questions," Harry said.

"Well, in that case I'll ask you some. Just out of mild curiosity, when you were with Severus at the café, and the Dursleys showed up, did you perhaps feel any safer with him there than you would have if he wasn't?"

Harry took a moment to consider. That all depended. If he had been alone at the time, he might have completely panicked, but if someone other than Severus had been there… Hermione and Ron would have made him feel safer than if he'd been alone, but somehow Severus made him feel safer than he would have even with one or both of them there. Sirius and Remus, on the other hand, made him feel safer than anyone else, at least at that point in time. "It depends on who else would have been with me. The only people who could have made me feel safer would have been Remus or Sirius, I think."

"Well, that's a good sign," Ethan said as he finished the list and handed it to Harry. "Well, believe it or not, our time is now coming to an end. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"

"This list – should I look for all ten or just a few?"

"Well, not every case is the same, but most of the time you should start to worry when you see at least four of the signs. If ten are present, then the list won't even be necessary – it will be blatantly obvious. Keep in mind most people exhibit one or two of these traits simply because of personality. And my mum always used to say, a sure way to tell what kind of person a man is, is to watch how he treats children, animals, and the elderly."

"Alright, thanks," Harry said before leaving the office.

* * *

Once he finally got home, he sat down and looked over the list.

 _1: Commitment Driven (asking for life-long commitment after only a few months, or saying he's madly in love after only a few days, or even pressuring you into sex before you're ready)_

 _2: Deceit (tells white-lies or performs superficial acts to make himself look better)_

 _3: Jealousy (doesn't like you talking to other men, mainly because deep-down he is dangerously possessive, possibly due to insecurities about who you love)_

 _4: Self-Victimized (if he was abused as a child and as a result feels entitled to special treatment or resentful at not having certain abilities/possessions/etc.)_

 _5: Refusal to Accept Blame (blames his problems, emotions, or situation on others, or is never willing to admit he is wrong or at fault)_

 _6: Self-Righteousness (he has an attitude of superiority, sometimes pointing out how he is better than a specific individual, or even verbally pin-pointing another individual's shortcomings)_

 _7: Isolation (he prevents you from seeing your friends and doesn't seem to have any himself)_

 _8: Petty (this stems from low self-esteem, so he gets offended easily, over-reacting, often taking disagreements as personal attacks and extracts an apology at every turn)_

 _9: Contempt (maliciously sarcastic, condescending, insults others subtly or openly)_

 _10: Aggressive (he becomes violent at irritation, is forceful or impatient, and must feel in control at all times)_

 _That might have been helpful before Nathaniel,_ Harry thought as he read through the list a few times. He could see a few of these in Severus, such as the isolation, but that was Severus just being a private individual, not him keeping Harry away from his friends. Harry would keep an eye on the list, but he was almost certain now that things with Severus were going to work out just fine.

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

Ron and Hermione had arranged to enjoy their lunch breaks together for a change, and they had quickly finished eating to go and get some shopping done. Ron had gotten separated from Hermione when he heard his name being called by a voice he hated more than anything he could think of at the moment. "Nathaniel," he nearly growled as he turned around to face the alpha who was approaching him. There was an omega at his side.

"How are you?" Nathaniel asked him, as if he hadn't noticed the hatred in Ron's voice.

"I was doing great until you showed up," Ron said. "What do you want anyway?"

"What makes you ask that?" Nathaniel asked, still completely calm.

"You're the one who called my name," Ron answered. He just knew he was about to get into a fight that, as a Ministry official, he should not be having in the middle of a public street, but he just couldn't get a hold of himself.

"Yes, well, since you point it out, I wanted to ask how Harry's doing?"

"You have no business asking that!" Ron shouted, attracting the attention of passerby around him. "Not after what you did," he seethed more quietly.

"What are you talking about? He's the one who cheated on me," said Nathaniel, talking even louder than Rod had.

"How dare you?! Harry never would have cheated on you!" Ron shouted, angered at the accusation. There was no doubt in his mind. Harry was nothing if not faithful. "You're just mad because he didn't do exactly as you wanted him to. You couldn't mold him to fit your perfect image of an omega, so you threw him out. You know that, and I know that. Clearly, he doesn't know that," Ron said, gesturing at the man standing next to Nathaniel, looking doubtful. "So, you told him Harry cheated on you?" Ron asked when the expressions on both faces in front of him were clearly telling him so. "Nathaniel here threw Harry out of their house because Harry wasn't getting pregnant fast enough. That's what really happened." Ron was careful to keep his voice quiet so that the surrounding spectators wouldn't hear his words.

"It's not my fault he was defective," Nathaniel said quietly. He'd already blown it with the omega, and he knew it, but he could at least make Harry look bad publicly. So far all anyone else had heard was what he had shouted…

"That does it," Ron said loudly, pulling out his wand. "One more word and I will hex you into next week."

"Oh, do try," said Nathaniel, pulling out his own wand and pointing it at Ron. The moment Ron drew breath for a spell, Nathaniel yelled, "Expelliarmus!" and Ron's wand went flying.

Fueled by his anger and what this man was trying to imply about his best friend and almost-little-brother, Ron did something he hadn't done since before he'd gotten a wand – he tackled Nathaniel to the ground, taking the man's wand in his shock and throwing it to the side. The two rolled on the ground for a good solid minute, getting in several punches, until someone was suddenly pulling Ron off of Nathaniel, and Ron noticed happily that Nathaniel looked much worse than he himself felt.

Then he noticed the crowd gathered. Somehow, he couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed. He was too mad at Nathaniel for what he'd done to Harry. "Ron, let's go," said the person holding his arm, and Ron suddenly realized he was looking up at the scarred face of his brother, Bill. He finally followed after him. Soon they were sitting on a bench on a side street. "What was that all about?" Bill asked.

"It's a long story," Ron sighed.

"Well, neither of us are going anyplace until you explain, so you may as well start now."

"Ron!" they both heard, and the turned to see Hermione running toward them. "What on earth happened?" she asked when she saw the bruises on his face. Ron suddenly felt a pain in his right hand that matched his left ankle.

"My wand?" he asked then, hoping Bill might have grabbed it.

"Here," said Bill, who pulled it out of his robes. "Now, explain."

"Well, you know how Harry was mated to this guy?"

"Yeah," said Bill.

"Well, he sort of kicked Harry out a few months ago. Harry moved in with us, and he's doing alright, but his ex-mate – Nathaniel – really put him through the ringer. You can't even imagine all the things he did. Don't tell anyone, because I don't want it getting out, but his problem with Harry was that Harry wasn't conceiving. Anyway, that bloke I just got in a fight with was the bloody alpha himself, and he had a new omega with him. I'd like to point out he called out to me. I didn't even know he was there. Anyway, he started going on about how Harry cheated on him and he had every right to ask how Harry was doing and I just told him to shut up or he'd get it. I had my wand out and then he disarmed me and I lost it and I tackled him and we just started fighting like Muggles do, you know? I was just so angry at him."

"Well, I can't honestly say I'm angry anymore," Hermione said, glad someone had caused Nathaniel some pain.

"Yeah, I can't say I disagree with Hermione," Bill said. "Why don't you go get cleaned up now, hm?"

"Yeah, I'll take care of him. Why don't we go home to take care of this?" Hermione said.

"Sure," Ron agreed. Hermione apparated them to their house and sat him down on the couch.

"What hurts?" she asked him.

"Well, my ankle for one thing," Ron complained.

"Which one?"

"Left," Ron said, wincing when Hermione grabbed it roughly. "Watch it," he whined.

"Oh shut up, you big baby," Hermione responded before healing the ankle. "Alright, what else."

"Thanks," Ron said dubiously before holding out his right hand.

"Just how many punches did you throw?" she asked him.

"I don't know. I wasn't exactly counting them, was I?"

"Oh, never mind," Hermione said. She cleaned up the skin around Ron's knuckles before healing the strains put on the muscles. "What else?"

"Well, there's my face," Ron said. Hermione did away with the bruises and asked the same question again. "My ribs are a bit sore," Ron finally admitted.

"Off with the shirt," Hermione said, though she helped Ron remove it.

"You have a great bedside manner, you know that?" Ron griped.

"Ron, I'm trying to get this done quickly so we aren't both late for work and so you don't show up at work covered in bruises."

"I don't even have to be back for another hour because my supervisor took the day off and the guy who is substituting for him really supports long lunches."

"Well, I have to be back in five minutes so stop complaining. I'll be nice when I get home tonight, how about that?"

"Fine," Ron mumbled, deciding there was no use in arguing his point any further.

"You nearly fractured one of your ribs," Hermione said before fixing the injury. "Alright, is there anything else?"

"No," Ron said.

"Alright. You might be sore for a few days, but other than that you're fine. I'm off to work, now."

"Okay. Bye, love you," Ron said, giving her a kiss before she took the Floo to work with an "I love you, too." Sighing, Ron put his shirt back on.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked as he came into the room. He'd heard Hermione and Ron talking from upstairs, but had stayed in the shadows, observing.

Ron jumped slightly. "Harry. I guess I didn't expect you to get home so early. How did everything go?"

"Pretty good. You didn't answer my question, though."

"Right," Ron said awkwardly, wondering how he was supposed to present the situation to Harry. "So, I'll just tell you the whole thing from the beginning." Ron did, and when he was finished, Harry leaned back heavily on the couch where he was sitting beside Ron.

"Thanks for giving him the pounding he deserves, at least," Harry said.

"Believe me, it was no trouble," Ron said. "I wasn't even trying that hard; like I said, I sort of just lost control."

"Well, thanks all the same."


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, the _Daily Prophet_ was explosive. The headline article read **The Boy-Who-Lived to Become the Man-Who-Cheats?** _See page 3 for an exclusive story by_ (you guessed it) _Rita Skeeter_. Harry sighed as he looked at it. He really did not want to read whatever garbage they were publishing now, but he supposed it might be best to prepare himself so he could brace himself the next time he went out in public. Reluctantly, he turned to page 3, where he found a lovely picture of him and Severus that he idly wondered if he should cut out to save, next to two small pictures. One was of him and Nathaniel the day they made the public announcement of their mating, and the one below it was of Ron and Nathaniel standing toe-to-toe with their wands drawn.

 _As many of us know, Harry Potter, known as the Boy-Who-Lived and the hero of the wizarding world, is an omega who mated to an alpha by the name of Nathaniel Burke two years ago. However, yesterday Mr. Potter, who interestingly enough chose to keep his last name, was found having lunch with another alpha (see the above photograph). This alpha was none other than Severus Snape, another war hero and former Potions professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One might speculate that the two were just having a friendly meeting to catch up after a few years, if it weren't for an altercation that took place a mere hour later._

 _Ron Weasley, someone who is a known friend of Harry Potter and is well-known for his role in helping to bring down You-Know-Who in the Second Wizarding War, had a public confrontation with Nathaniel Burke. Burke was heard to shout out, "He[Potter]'s the one who cheated on me." To this Weasley gave some rather angry responses, although they were mysteriously unintelligible to those who witnessed the scene. Soon the two were facing each other with their wands out (as pictured above) until Weasley completely bypassed magic and tackled Burke to the ground, getting into a Muggle-type fight._

 _It has been noted that Burke had an omega with him when he and Weasley had their altercation, so that implies that the relationship between Burke and Potter has come to a close. However, that does not clear Potter's name. Could we not deduce that he and the former professor have been in a love affair for a long while now, and are only now seeing each other in public because it is safe to do so? Ultimately, the question come down to this: Is Harry Potter an unfaithful man, or is there something more going on? Time will only tell, but for now we shall let the public form their own opinions._

"Well that's just great," Harry muttered. "As if you haven't given me enough trouble as it is, Rita Skeeter. You and the _Daily Prophet_."

"Anybody home?" he heard Sirius call from the fireplace. He looked up from where he was sitting on the couch. "Yeah, come on through," Harry invited. It was rare indeed to Sirius to contact him via Floo and not want to come through for an actual visit.

"Remus is coming along," Sirius said before stepping through, followed by the werewolf. "I see you've read the paper then." he said, sounding just as angry as Harry was feeling.

"Oh, not all of it. Just this especially juicy article on page 3. Are you familiar with it?"

"I think I know the one," Sirius said, sitting beside Harry. "So, what do you plan to do? Or are you going to do anything?"

"Well, I don't really know," Harry said. "I don't suppose you'd have any suggestions…?"

"I'm afraid not, pup," Sirius said. "Unless of course, you want us to storm the _Daily Prophet_ and demand they revise their story. We'd be more than happy to do it of course," Sirius said. He did not appreciate the image they were putting forth of his pup.

"I think I'd rather come up with something slightly less extreme," Harry said.

"You could go down to the _Daily Prophet_ and tell one of the reporters the real story. Or even go to Rita Skeeter specifically," Remus suggested. "I would suggest you definitely do _something_ , though. It's normally better not to worry about what others think of you, but this is going to be something that could get blown very far out of proportion, and it's severe enough and wrong enough that I believe it deserves some correction."

"Do you think Rita Skeeter would actually do any good with the article if I talked to her, or do you think she'd be more likely to just twist everything I say so she doesn't look like a bad journalist?"

"That's a good point," Remus agreed.

"I definitely think you should go see someone else. I would suggest talking to Norbert Malone. He's a well-known writer for the _Daily Prophet_ and has a reputation for publishing only credible material," Sirius said.

"I think I will," Harry answered. "When do you think I should go? Right now, to make sure it gets published in good time?"

"No," Remus said. "Definitely wait. If you go now, it will seem like you were almost desperate to fix things, like you're trying to cover it up before word spreads."

"Why would that be a bad thing? Wouldn't it be good to stop it from spreading?" Sirius questioned.

"At this point, the only way to stop it from spreading would be to turn back time and keep that from being published. People are going to be gossiping about this for a while, more than likely, and some might still talk about 'the scandal' for years. If Harry rushed over there, it'll make him look almost like he's guilty. If he'd calm and collected, people will be more likely to believe him. So, did you have any plans for today?"

"What?" Harry asked, bewildered. "Well, I mean, we were running low on some potions in the emergency medical kit so I was gonna run into town and pick some up," said Harry, knowing everyone in the room knew he was trying to get an excuse to see Severus. "That's about it, though."

"Well, on second thought maybe not," Remus backtracked immediately. At the curious looks of the others in the room, he said, "I was going to suggest you take care of whatever business you might have in town today and then go over and talk to someone, to make it look almost like an afterthought to correct a minor mistake, but I'm not sure you want to go in public and suffer through all the looks you're bound to get."

"Are you sure you're not secretly in Slytherin?" asked Sirius, wondering at how clever Remus was trying to be.

"I'm sure."

"I think that's actually a good idea," Harry said.

"What is, being a Slytherin?" Sirius asked.

"No," Harry said. "Doing my business as usual and then heading over to _Prophet_ headquarters. It's not like I'm not already stared at all the time anyway. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime," Remus said. "I suppose we'll be getting back to our place now."

"Alright, see you later. Love you both."

"Love you, too, pup," Sirius said, ruffling Harry's hair despite Harry being much too old for it, before Remus pulled him into a hug and said, "Love you, too, cub," and placed a kiss into his hair.

* * *

When Harry entered Severus's shop, there was someone else already there, so he loitered around in the front room, waiting his turn. When the other customer was finished, Harry began to approach the counter, but the man who had just bought some sort of potion stopped him. "I read an interesting article in the paper today, Potter," he said in an undertone before walking out.

"Well that was rude," Harry muttered before going to the counter Severus was standing behind. "What's wrong?" he asked the obviously troubled man.

"I'm not entirely sure," he answered. "I don't get the _Prophet_ very often because it tends to be filled with rubbish, but apparently some scandalous article pertaining to the two of us was published in today's addition, and you're here early, so I was just wondering if there's something I ought to be worried about."

"No, I wouldn't say you should be worried," Harry said. "I'm actually going to go and get a correct article printed by the one reliable journalist they have as soon as I leave here, and I'm only early because we need to re-stock our at-home medical kit."

"Ah, well, that has put me at ease," Severus said. "So, what exactly did the article say, if I may ask?"

"Well, you know how we ate lunch together yesterday? Apparently Rita Skeeter was there, too. Since it was never made public that I was no longer mated – how that happened I'll forever wonder – she thought it was very odd that I was out with another alpha and decided to use it in a story. Then, not long after that, she came upon a fight. My former alpha, Nathaniel, had run into Ron, and they naturally got into a fight. Since Nathaniel had some new omega with him," Harry said, knowing it hurt a little to admit he'd already been replaced like that, "they accepted we weren't mated anymore, but the story Nathaniel's been telling everyone is that I cheated on him, so when Ron told Nathaniel he had no right to be asking about me, Nathaniel answered for the whole street to hear that I was the one who cheated on him, which of course isn't the case. So apparently, I had some passionate secret love affair with my ex-professor and we're finally going out in public together. Since you asked."

"Well, I'm glad you're going to fix it. How much are you going to tell them, though?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Is it alright that I clear up that we are currently, but only recently courting? Do you think I should mention why he kicked me out?"

"Yes on the first. The second is up to you. However, in my opinion they will have a hard time accepting it if they don't know the reason why."

"I just don't want to suddenly be seen as some victim or something."

"You aren't a victim," Severus said softly. "You have never been a victim. You are much too stubborn to allow that to happen to you."

Harry wondered if Severus would say the same thing if he knew the details of what had happened between him and Nathaniel. Suddenly, he felt very insecure. What if he really was a victim? He had been abused on two different occasions, both of them lengthy. Suppose Severus knew the details.

The look on Harry's face made Severus wonder if there was something he wasn't being told that was bothering Harry. They had only been together for an immensely short amount of time, but he wanted Harry to know he could talk to him about things. "Harry, you seem as though something is bothering you. You know you can tell me anything, and I won't hold it against you, don't you?"

Harry looked down. "Promise?" he asked.

Severus moved from behind the counter and wrapped his arms gently around Harry. When Harry relaxed into him after a few tense moments, he gently tightened his grip. "Of course," he said, placing the gentlest of kisses on the top of Harry's head. "I don't love you for being perfect, because I know that you have your faults just as I do. You don't have to hide them from me. Believe me, after teaching you for so many years I am fully aware that you are far from perfect."

"I don't want to talk with you about this while you're at work."

"Business isn't particularly booming today. I probably won't have anyone else come in. If you like we can go to the backroom and talk there, where I will hear if the front door opens."

"Yeah," Harry said. After walking to the backroom, Severus transfigured them a couch and sat down on it, patting the cushion beside him. Harry sat down, then after some consideration he leaned into Severus, feeling content and safe in his presence. "It isn't too soon for this, is it?" Harry asked fearfully.

"I don't think so. We are both comfortable, are we not?"

Nodding his head, Harry began to speak. "Nathaniel was really controlling. That much is probably obvious to you already without me saying so. I mean, he was really mad when I didn't get pregnant. He always made it out to be my fault. He wouldn't let me spend much time with Remus and Sirius, or Ron and Hermione, and I think it was only my own stubbornness that allowed me to keep in touch with them.

"Nathaniel eventually started getting angry a lot, and he got violent when he was angry. He started becoming abusive before long. He'd yell at me for no apparent reason, then hug me and tell me he was sorry. It got really confusing and I never really knew what was expected of me to do or say. Then he would hit me sometimes. It started out small, but then that escalated as well. Then it got really bad. There was this one night when I told him I didn't want to have sex, even though he insisted on it. I kept telling him no. I was tired and it had been a really long day and he had just yelled at me a lot the day before and I just wasn't in the mood.

"Nathaniel had to get what he wanted, though, so he dragged me to the bedroom, and I was getting kind of scared, but I froze up and didn't fight until I was suddenly on the bed, tied down, naked, and couldn't use my magic." It was a known fact that once an alpha and omega mate, the alpha gains power over the omega's magic because of the bond between the two. That's why these relationships had to be trusting, because the alpha could immobilize the omega's magic at will. "The next thing I knew he was using his wand to carve things into my body. I've still got a scar from every mark from that night. Most of them are just lines, but he wrote some things, too. And what's worse is no matter what, they're irremovable. I checked with a healer once… Then he raped me. Every time I said no to sex after that, he would just steal my magic away first thing and tell me if I didn't cooperate he'd just tie me down again. Sometimes he tied me down anyway, though." Harry took a steadying breath. He hadn't admitted all of that to anyone. Not even his counselor. "And you still don't think I'm a victim?"

Severus pushed his anger away. That could be dealt with later, when Harry wasn't relying on him for support. "No, Harry, I don't think you're a victim, or anywhere near it. You pulled through. You didn't let it consume you. You sought help and accepted support from the ones who care about you. A victim would have let the situation completely control him and would have lain down and died long before reaching to the point you've come to. When I look at you, I don't see a victim anymore than I see the bloody Boy-Who-Lived. I see a young man with his father's looks but his mother's eyes, who has a strong, stubborn will and fights for the truth, because that is what he believes in. I see a man who has had a difficult life but has made the decision to recover. And most of all I see someone who has the support of his family, his friends, and his new boyfriend. Am I understood?"

"Yeah." Harry said, relaxing into the side of the man he was growing to… love? "Thank you for that. You're really great at listening, you know. And just so you know, if there's ever anything you want to discuss with me, it is a two-way street."

"Thank you. I may take you up on that offer at a later date, but for the moment I will pass on it."

"Of course," Harry said. He glanced at the time and realized he'd been there for a little too long. "I hate to leave, but I've got to get going."

"I understand. Would you like to go out again this weekend?"

"That'd be great."

"Why don't I pick you up at 7:00 on Saturday and you can choose where we eat this time?"

"Sounds good," Harry agreed. "I know this great Muggle place Hermione introduced us all to. So dress like a casual Muggle," Harry said before leaving.

* * *

When Harry arrived at the _Daily Prophet_ he was met with stares, as usual. He was almost growing accustomed to it – almost. "I need to see Norbert Malone," Harry said to the first person he saw.

"This way," said the timid girl whose job Harry was clueless of. He was led to an office. "Mr. Potter to see you, sir," said the girl, very quietly.

"Ah, thank you Lauren. Well, what can I do for you, Harry Potter?"

"I was wondering if I could get you to publish an article for me."

"I assume this has something to do with that atrocity written by Ms. Skeeter that was published in this morning's paper?"

"You mean, you don't believe it?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No, not in the slightest. I've heard stories about you from people who know you as more than just the one who's defeated Voldemort. You don't seem like the type to do that kind of thing. Besides, of the three divisions of secondary genders, those who are omegas are the very least likely to cheat. Granted, I'm not sure anyone else agrees with me on the subject."

"It's a relief that you, at least, believe me. I still thought it might be best if we put the truth out there, because if we don't then I'm not really sure where people are going to with this story. I've heard you have a reputation for publishing truth and nothing but, so you seemed like the best candidate."

"I'm flattered. So, what would you like published? And do you mind if I use a dictating quill?"

"Not at all," Harry said and waited for the other man to get ready. "Well, I suppose I should start at the beginning. As everyone knows, Nathaniel and I were mated to each other for two years. He kicked me out of the house shortly after the two-year mark passed. He was getting impatient with me, because apparently the only omega he was interested in was the one that would bear pups. I wasn't fulfilling his wishes in that area, so he decided to get me out of the way so he could try and get what he wanted out of someone else. I never would have cheated on him, not in a million years. I have been buying potions from Severus Snape for a while, and he recently asked me to accompany him to dinner. I accepted and we decided to court each other from there – after my relationship with Nathaniel had long since ended.

"As for the altercation between Ron and Nathaniel yesterday – it wasn't what it appeared to be. Nathaniel called out to Ron, and they proceeded to get into an argument, because as you can imagine none of my family or friends are happy with Nathaniel at the moment. Apparently, Nathaniel was telling his acquaintances that we broke up because I cheated, and he wanted to make that supposed fact public. The reason Ron didn't correct him loudly was because, being the great friend he is and always has been, he didn't want my personal information to become public. All these events were just poorly timed, and Ms. Skeeter took them a bit out of proportion when she wrote her article earlier."

"Well, that's certainly going to cause a stir-up. It should be interesting to see how the rest of the public reacts to this whole thing. I have a feeling they're more likely to take your side – not just because you're Harry Potter but also because cases like yours happen all the time – as much as that rankles."

"So, will that be in tomorrow's paper, I suppose?" Harry asked.

"Most likely."

"Alright. Thanks for your time."

"Of course. It was nice meeting you."

"You, too," Harry said before he made his way back home. He couldn't help but be grateful that the complete stranger hadn't wanted to try to offer some sort of support for what he'd experienced - it was fine coming from friends, not so much from people who didn't really know him.

* * *

 ** _AN: I hope everyone enjoyed that. Give me some feedback, please. It always makes my day!_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_AN: Things abruptly start winding down after this chapter, but I'm working on the sequel already and I have plans for a third story and possibly for a fourth, so don't start worrying yet. There's one chapter left after this one. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

* * *

The headline of the article in the next day's paper was **The "Man-Who-Cheats" Debunks the Rumors.** The article went as follows.

 _Yesterday, a young man came to see me at my office, and I knew right-off who he was – most people do recognize Harry Potter when they see him. He said he wanted me to publish his side of things regarding the article printed in yesterday's paper. I was more than happy to oblige him, because I found myself hesitant to believe the rumors put forth in yesterday's_ Prophet _. After much debate, I have decided that instead of paraphrasing what he said to me, I will simply shorten it to make it more appropriate for a news article._

 _". ._ _. As everyone knows, Nathaniel and I were mated . . . for two years. He kicked me out . . . shortly after the two-year mark passed. He was getting impatient with me, because apparently the only omega he was interested in was the one that would bear pups. I wasn't fulfilling his wishes . . . so he decided to get me out of the way [to make room for] someone else. I never would have cheated on him, not in a million years. I have been buying potions from Severus Snape for a while, and he recently asked me . . . to dinner. I accepted and we decided to court each other from there – after my relationship with Nathaniel had long since ended._

 _"_ _As for the altercation between Ron and Nathaniel yesterday . . . Nathaniel called out to Ron, and they proceeded to get into an argument, because as you can imagine none of my family or friends are happy with Nathaniel . . . Apparently, Nathaniel was [saying] that we broke up because I cheated, and he wanted to make that . . . public. The reason Ron didn't correct him loudly [to be heard] was because, being the great friend he is . . . he didn't want my personal information to become public. All these events were just poorly timed, and Ms. Skeeter took them a bit out of proportion . . ."_

 _So, you have now been exposed to both sides of the story. It is up to you which to believe. Of course, there is always the option of neutrality, because these affairs are, in reality, quite personal._

* * *

That Saturday, Harry and Severus enjoyed a great dinner before going to see a movie, an experience Severus had never had that Harry insisted on. To Harry's pleasure, Severus found he quite enjoyed the picture. "Perhaps we should do that more often now," he said as they took a walk around the lit up street, comfortably crowded with other people who were enjoying their Saturday night on the town.

"I'd like that," Harry said shyly.

"Harry!" they heard someone call out. Turning to the right, Harry saw Dean Thomas coming in their direction. "It's good to see you," he said once he'd reached them. "You too, Professor."

"No need to call me that," Severus said. "I have not been a professor for several years. It is nice to see you, though, Dean," Severus replied.

"Yeah, how have you been?" Harry inquired.

"Great actually. You'll probably be getting a letter from me soon – I'm getting married and I've invited you to the wedding," he told Harry. "You're welcome to come as well," he added to Severus. "Every guest is allotted a date."

"Just out of curiosity, where did you hear about us?" Harry asked. He hadn't really been able to tell how successful the article had been and he was curious to get the perspective of someone who didn't actually know the details for sure.

"The _Daily Prophet_ ," Dean said. "I don't normally read it, but Seamus – he's the one I'm marrying by the way – reads it and he was outraged by that first article – I'm sure you know the one. He said he didn't think you ever would have done something like that and it was utter rubbish and they had no right. He said he'd give the _Prophet_ one chance to fix it, so it's rather lucky for them you corrected them when you did. We both thought the second one was much more credible."

"That's good to know," Harry said.

"Yeah. Hey, listen. It seems like you're doing alright, but you can always come to either me or Seamus if you ever need anything, alright? I know we were never particularly close, but we did all share a room for over half a decade, so it's only fair we extend the offer."

"Thanks, Dean," Harry said.

"Well, it was good seeing you both. I'll let you get back now to what's obviously a date. Have a nice night!"

"You too," Harry called to the other man's retreating back. "It was good seeing him again."

"Have you not been in touch with him since leaving Hogwarts?" Severus asked, mildly surprised.

"Well, after we all got through with school, we sort of tried to keep in touch, but then people started getting busy with jobs and I started getting busy with… other stuff. So we sort of just stopped. Ron and Hermione are about the only two I kept in touch with. Except, you know, the rest of the Weasleys."

"Hm," was the only response Severus provided. "It is getting a bit late, now. Would you like to return home?"

"Yeah, I'm getting a bit tired," Harry said.

"Alright," Severus said before taking Harry's hand and apparating to the front porch of Ron and Hermione's house. "I had a great night," Severus said quietly.

"Me, too," Harry said. "Do you think we could do the same thing next time we go out?"

"I'd love that," Severus said. "Speaking of, when would you like to do this again? Does this coming Saturday sound appropriate?"

"Absolutely," Harry agreed quickly. "Except, maybe this time you could pick where we eat, but I could still pick the movie?"

"I see no problem with that," Severus agreed readily. "Until then," he said, placing a soft kiss to Harry's lips.

"Yeah," Harry said breathlessly. It hadn't been much as far as kisses went, but Harry was still swept away. It was becoming quite the familiar feeling with Severus. With a contented smile on his lips, he opened the door and entered the house, not surprised in the least to see Ron had been waiting up for him.

* * *

 _A year and a half later…_

Severus arrived at the door of the house belonging to Sirius and Remus soon after getting off work. He had written to them earlier in the week, requesting to see them about an important matter whenever was most convenient for them. He had received a reply that anytime after he closed up shop on Friday would be acceptable. So, here he was.

"Ah, Severus. We've been expecting you," Sirius said after opening the door. "Come on in. We've got some tea waiting in the sitting room."

Severus followed the other man and sat down in the indicated chair. It was strange, even after all these years, to be seated so civilly in the home of people he used to battle with daily in his school years. It was a good strange, though.

"So, what is it that you want to discuss?" Remus asked, though from the look on both his and Sirius's faces, Severus suspected they already knew.

"Well, after courting Harry for the time that I have, I would like to propose to him, and ask him to be my mate. I wanted to request your blessing in doing so," Severus said.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, and Severus knew they were having one of those conversations often held between mates that required nothing to be spoken. Finally, Sirius spoke up. "You have our permission," he said. "You'd best treat him right, though."

"I understand," Severus said.

* * *

The next day was Saturday, and as was almost tradition now, Severus picked Harry up for their date. Harry had moved out of Hermione and Ron's house a year ago and now had a small flat to himself that he paid for with the money he earned at his new job – in Severus's apothecary. Severus had been considering getting a brighter face to man the front of his shop, while he took care of the background of things. While Severus wasn't nearly as severe as he once was – Harry had taken care of that – he still was not and would never be the friendliest of people. He had offered Harry the job when Harry had mentioned wanting to get a job and getting his own place. Harry had been hesitant – thinking Severus was just doing him some sort of favor – but Severus had convinced him to try it out, and Harry loved it.

"So, it's your pick for dinner tonight," Harry said. "Where are we going?"

"Someplace you'll like," Sev promised before taking Harry's hand and apparating them to what he had learned was Harry's favorite restaurant.

"Wow. You're just full of surprises," Harry said. Normally, Sev told him when they were going here – he liked to give Harry more to look forward to.

"You have no idea," the taller man answered cryptically.

Furrowing his brow in curiosity, Harry followed Sev inside. "So, how was your day?" Harry asked. They rarely saw each other during the day on Saturdays or at all on Sundays because they never worked on the weekends.

"It was fine," Sev said. Deciding it didn't always hurt too much to be a tad bit mushy, he quietly added, "It's better now, though."

"Mine, too," Harry said. They spent most of the meal in familiar conversation. Harry reflected that Saturday nights were definitely the best nights of the week. "So, where to now?" Harry asked once they'd both finished their meals. They occasionally went to the movies, but not as often as they did when Sev first started watching them.

"I was thinking a nice walk in the park would be fitting," Severus said, once again apparating them to the location he had chosen for this night. They walked for a while before Severus finally decided they were alone enough – he knew Harry wouldn't want a lot of spectators for this.

"Let's sit down," he said, leading Harry to a bench. "Harry," he began, suddenly forgetting what he had planned out to say in this moment. Perhaps he should have been more romantic? No – Harry had not fallen in love with him for how romantic he was. The thought of that was simply preposterous. Deciding to just start talking before Harry got worried about what was happening, Severus said, "I know I've told you before, but I love you very deeply – more deeply than I ever thought I could love another person. You make me feel like I've never felt before. You are truly amazing in every sense of the word. You've had a challenging life, but you have refused to let it get you down. Rather than allowing your experiences to make you bitter, you used them to make you into the wonderful person that I have been lucky enough to get to know. We used to have severe differences with one another, when we were both younger, and I'm sure we will have our disagreements in the future, and that's alright. You are the one person I love more than anything else in the world and I would walk through a wall of fire for you. Harry, I don't want to spend my life without you by my side. Would you… be my mate?" Sev finally asked.

Harry was spellbound. He had been hoping to one day get mated to Sev, and he had been hoping it would happen soon. Still, hearing the unmistakable proof that Sev really did want to be his mate was literally breathtaking. Unable to make his voice function, Harry nodded furiously.

Severus was worried a moment that Harry was trying to find a way to gracefully decline when the younger man started nodding his head profusely. Joy filled him as he wrapped his arms around Harry, who hugged his waist and buried his face in hair that actually smelled better than anything had aver smelled before. "Yes!" Harry finally found the ability to say.

* * *

 ** _AN: Feedback, please! :D_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_AN: Here it is, the last chapter (of this story). It's been a fun ride. I hope you enjoy the following chapter. Please read the notes at the end!  
_**

* * *

The ceremony was somewhat small, because they only wanted their closest friends there – despite the general public thinking they somehow had the _right_ to go to Harry Potter's mating ceremony. After the official part of it, Harry and Severus led the way to the reception hall, where there were foods and drinks and a rather large cake. Harry and Severus were practically glued to one another's side, not allowing anyone to pull one away from the other. Harry insisted they go their rounds and speak with everyone there, so Severus simply followed his lead. He wasn't particularly social, but he wasn't averse to speaking with others. So, by the end of things they had talked to every single one of them – Molly, Arthur, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Rose (Hermione and Ron's daughter), and Ginny Weasley (although she wasn't to be a Weasley much longer); Remus and Sirius; Neville and Luna; Dean and Seamus; Headmistress McGonagall; Draco Malfoy (who had changed drastically since the war); Hagrid; Lee Jordan (who was seeing George); Angelina Johnson (who had come with Fred); and someone named Robert who Ginny was seeing.

That night, Harry and Severus checked into a hotel in Venice, where they planned to start their honeymoon - they planned to travel a few different areas of Europe. They still had not been intimate with one another – as per the normally-respected rules of courting between an alpha and omega. Harry was growing increasingly nervous. He still hadn't shown his scars to many people. Severus and Remus were the only two people close to Harry who even knew they existed. He wasn't sure how comfortable he felt at the idea of Severus seeing them. He supposed he should have found a way to address the issue before now, but he'd wanted to put it off – almost as if it would go away if it wasn't acknowledged.

Severus seemed to noticed how nervous Harry was, because as soon as they had gotten settled and taken (separate) showers, he took one of Harry's hands in both of his. "Is everything alright?" he asked him. "You seem nervous."

"It's fine," Harry said, looking down.

"You know you can trust me. I'm not going to do anything to hurt you, and you can tell me anything."

"I know you won't hurt me. Believe it or not, that's not what I'm nervous about."

"Then what is it?" Severus asked tenderly.

"I've mentioned my scars to you before, but you've never seen them – the only person other than me who's seen them is a healer. It's just… I'm not sure I'm ready for you to look at them." Harry could have kicked himself. _Now_ he thought of the many concealing spells he could have used to hide them.

"That is nothing to worry about," Severus said. "It is nothing to be ashamed of, and it will hardly make me treat you any differently. A few areas of your skin that don't quite match the rest of your skin in color are hardly going to make me see you in a different light, and I already know how you got them," Severus said, trying to put _his mate's_ mind at ease.

"You're sure?" Harry asked insecurely.

"Positive," Severus answered. He reached forward and his fingers closed around the hem of Harry's shirt. When Harry made no move to stop him, he pulled it over his head. What he found beneath was breathtaking – both in a good and a bad way. It was clear that the lean man was quite muscled, but the scarring was also quite severe. Knowing how nervous his mate was, Severus tenderly traced one of the long lines that was across his chest. "You are beautiful," he said with certainty. He tried not to focus on the words carved into Harry's torso and how angry they made him at the man who had put them there.

"You don't mean that," Harry denied.

"Oh, but I do," Severus said before things quickly took a turn for the more exciting.

* * *

That night, as they lay in the afterglow of their activities, Harry hesitantly asked, "So, are you interested in having pups?"

Knowing this was a delicate topic at best, Severus thought out his answer carefully. First he asked, "Are you?"

"Yeah, but maybe if we waited a year first?"

"I think that sounds reasonable, although we might change our minds and decide to wait, or we could decide we want one or two sooner. Of course, if we have trouble with that, there is always adoption if you truly want to raise children. I find I quite like the idea myself."

"I never even thought about adoption," Harry admitted.

"It seems like a fine option to me, wouldn't you say?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

 _7 months later…_

Harry knew that, if he weren't on suppressants, his next heat would be coming up in two weeks. With that in mind, as he and Severus snuggled under the blankets, with Harry wrapped in his alpha's arms, Harry asked, "What would you think about trying for pups now?"

Severus thought about it. "I think it sounds like a good proposition," he said, placing a kiss in Harry's hair. "So, that means no more suppressants," he reminded Harry.

"I know," Harry said quietly. Sure he wanted to do this, but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous - not only about the probability of having difficulties conceiving, but also at the thought of enduring a heat for the first time in a very long time.

* * *

The day after Harry's heat ended, he woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. "Ah, I see you've awoken," Severus said. "Here, you need to eat a good breakfast today."

"Thanks," Harry said, smiling.

"How are you feeling?" Severus asked.

"Not bad. A little tired, but in a good way," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Good," Severus said, sitting down beside Harry on the bed to make sure he ate properly.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Harry asked.

"I ate earlier. I wasn't sure when you would wake up," Severus explained.

"What time is it?" Harry asked.

"12:00," Severus said.

"Oh, Merlin," Harry said.

"Don't worry about it," Sev assured him. "I didn't wake up until 10:00 myself."

"I didn't wear you out too much, did I?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I enjoyed it, I have to admit," Severus said with a wry smile.

Once Harry finished eating, he stood up and went to the bathroom. While there he did a diagnostic spell he'd been taught that was used to detect pregnancies. It came up negative, and Harry couldn't help the disappointment he felt. He'd been doing great lately, but he suddenly felt himself breaking and before he knew it he had tears coming down his face as he sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. He'd had such hopes this time.

"Harry?" he heard Sev call outside the door some time later. Harry had lost track of time apparently. "Are you alright in there?" Severus was a little worried. Harry had been in the room for far too long and he didn't know if he was okay or not.

"I don't know," Harry said, still trying to get a hold on his sobbing.

Hearing the obvious tears in Harry's voice, Sev tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he opened it to find Harry sitting on the floor with tear stains streaking his cheeks. "What is it?" he asked as he lowered himself down to sit next to his omega.

Harry couldn't find the words at the moment, so he simply went in for a hug, rejoicing minutely when Sev wrapped his arms around Harry. "I'm not pregnant," Harry finally admitted.

Severus looked down at the man sitting next to him. "Harry, it is very rare to get pregnant on the first heat after taking suppressants for more than a year. I thought someone had told you, but I suppose I was wrong." Severus really should have learned by now not to make assumptions about Harry. "Besides, even if that weren't true, it's alright."

"I just really want pups," Harry said. "I always have. I wish it could just happen to me like it does for so many other people."

"I know," Severus said. "I wish it could happen, too, but it will be alright if it doesn't. Come what may, we will get through it – together. Do you hear me?"

That seemed to be enough, because Harry finally started feeling okay again. "Yeah," he said. "Thanks for being so great at all this."

"It's my pleasure," Severus said. "No matter what, I will always be here for you."

 **The End**

* * *

 ** _AN: There you have it. I know it seems like I put quite a bit in this chapter with very little detail, but it felt right for me and I hope you feel the same way. I'm afraid the sequel is at the same pace, as it stands now.  
_**

 ** _I have now completed the sequel, and the rough draft (I edit as I post) is 5,765 words. I will probably post it in the next week. I can either post it as a oneshot or I can make it into two chapters. I'd like to hear input on what my readers would like. Majority wins. If I don't get any votes within the next few days, I'll probably just flip a coin and go for it. (Just tell me what you'd prefer in a review.)_**

 ** _Coming up: I do have plans for a third story, which I have yet to start. There is a possibility of a fourth installment, but that depends on if the scrap of an idea I have develops any farther and if there is continued interest._**

 ** _Thank you all for sticking with me thus far as well as for all the feedback._**


	12. Update

**_UPDATE: I have added the second story in this 'verse. Go read it please! :) And I meant to put this in chapter 11 of this story, but I forgot so I thought I'd add it here as a little surprise. This happens sometime before the wedding/mating ceremony thing._**

* * *

Harry was packing boxes in his flat, preparing to move in with Severus. It still gave him butterflies in his stomach sometimes to think about it and he was quite sure that would last a while. He often found himself thinking about things when he was packing, for though his hands were busy with his task, it did little to occupy his mind on its own.

After discussing it with his future mate, Harry had decided it was time to change his last name. He hadn't wanted to when mating Nathaniel; it was almost as if he'd somehow known it wasn't the right time to change his name, that it was best to leave things as open as possible to a second chance. He was now taking that second chance with Severus. Unlike with Nathaniel, it felt right - natural - to be changing his name to match Sev's. Besides, not only would that increase the obvious unity between the two of them, but he would no longer have to see _that look_ on everyone's face whenever he was introduced by his full name. His looks weren't as well-known as his name anymore, but no one failed to recognize the name of Harry Potter.

Harry wanted people to see him as more than just the Boy Who Lived. Being Harry Snape would label him as being together with his mate. and that was far more important to him than fame ever could have come close to being.


End file.
